Schlereth passes on Broncos possible Foles pursuit, Stokley hesitant
Feb 6, 2019, 4:07 PM | Updated: Feb 7, 2019, 7:56 am
Nick Foles paying $2 million to void his contract option with the Philadelphia Eagles is just the latest wrinkle amid the conversation of whether the Denver Broncos should pursue the one-time Super Bowl MVP this offseason.
But on Wednesday, “Schlereth and Evans” co-host Mark Schlereth laid out his reasons why he believes the Broncos should not go down the “Nick Foles road” after they went down the “Case Keenum road.”
“No. 1, I don’t think Nick Foles is what I would call a ‘force multiplier.’ I don’t think Nick Foles makes everybody around him better,” Schlereth said. “I think you have to have, very much like Case Keenum, a really good group around him, a group of difference makers around him, for him to be able to play at an elite level.”
Schlereth also argued against paying a guy like Foles, who may be “only marginally better” than Keenum, upwards of $22 million a year, especially if you’re on the hook for $18 million with Keenum.
“… You don’t get to address the issues you have as a franchise. And those issues are upgrading your talent and upgrading your talent at multiple positions,” Schlereth said.
“Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley also expressed hesitations in the Broncos possibly pursuing Foles, though he said it’d be foolish for general manager John Elway to “close the door” on the idea.
Stokley said he has hang-ups surrounding not only what he might demand in terms of a contract but also his durability.
“I don’t picture him as a very durable quarterback,” Stokley said. “And his lack of playing a lot of football over the past two years, you have to take that into the equation with Nick Foles.”
While leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl in 2017 and back to the playoffs in 2018, Foles did so while only starting eight games over those two seasons.
Only twice has Foles started more 10 games in a season — with the St. Louis Rams in 2015 (11) and in his first stint with the Eagles in 2013 (10) — and the most games he’s played in a season is 13, also in 2013.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
