Earlier this week, a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media had the Rams and quarterback Nick Foles talking about a contract extension.
Both Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Foles confirmed that those talks are underway and both men expressed a desire to continue a working relationship that began when Foles was traded to St. Louis a few months ago. Fisher said that Foles proved “he can get the job done on the field” while with the Eagles and Foles said he wants to spend the rest of his career with the team.
“This is where I want to play,” Foles said, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “As a player, you want to be somewhere and you want to play there the rest of your career. So this is where I want to be, but that’s why we have agents. My most important thing right now is just to continue to work with my teammates and continue to be the best player and person I can be. We’ll see what happens. I love Coach Fisher and the staff and everybody in this building. I’m very fortunate to be here.”
As is always the case with contracts, the devil will be in the financial details. Foles has a relatively small sample size as a starter (24 starts over three seasons) and the results have been mixed enough that it’s hard to see the Rams paying top dollar to secure Foles’s services before he’s played a down for the team. Should Foles play well, they’d have the franchise tag at their disposal to ensure his return in the event that they couldn’t agree to a longer deal.
Foles would get security by signing now, but he’d cost himself money if he thrives in the Rams offense. So while he might say that being on the Rams is “the most important thing,” the chance to cash in at a later date could lead him to put talks on hold until the season plays out.