Mike Vick believes Eagles should keep Nick Foles as a backup for 2019

Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Vick sees Nick Foles as a great safety valve for Carson Wentz.

If there’s one quarterback in the NFL who knows precisely what Carson Wentz is going through, it’s former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Mike Vick. Once upon a time, Vick was the starting quarterback for the Birds, and similar to Wentz’s current situation, Vick suffered an injury and would be replaced by Nick Foles. If you can remember, Foles ended up having his historic 27 touchdowns to two interceptions season in 2013 after Vick went down for the year.

Foles didn’t exactly light up the field the following season when he became the Eagles starting quarterback though. In fact, Foles eventually would suffer a season-ending injury himself in 2014. After that, the Eagles and their crazy general manager, Chip Kelly traded Foles away to the St. Louis Rams, where his career almost ended before it really even had a chance to get started.

Now, Foles is back in the picture with the Eagles with a Super Bowl ring in his possession, on the road to another. As an Eagles quarterback, Foles is 4-1 in the playoffs but has yet to play a full season under center in his career. While the city of Philly has grown to love Carson Wentz over the last three years, many are beginning to turn their backs on him. Foles was an excellent bandage for the team when Wentz went down, but is he really the long-term solution like some would say?

Mike Vick issues his two cents

If Mike Vick were in the Eagles front office, what decision would he make at this point? Well, according to a recent Q&A session with NJ Advance Media’s Mike Kaye, Vick would suggest trying to keep Nick Foles around to have some sort of duo quarterback action going on in Philly. Is that an impossible scenario? No. But it would be costly for Philly and quite frankly would probably be somewhat of an ongoing distraction. Here are Vick’s thoughts on the situation.

"He’s proven to be a good complement to Carson. He’s older than Carson, so he knows a little bit more, has more experience, if you will. I think it’s just about trying to keep those guys together and seeing what comes out of it. There’s no rush to make a decision. I think it’s all in the hands of Doug Pederson and [Eagles Executive Vice President of Football Operations] Howie Roseman, and obviously, [owner] Jeffrey Lurie.But if I had something to do with making the decision, I would say keep Nick around. He’s a great safety valve.”"

According to league sources, Foles is believed to have a high demand in the market for available quarterbacks this upcoming offseason. Remember though, that’s precisely what was said after Foles was crowned the Super Bowl MVP, and the Eagles couldn’t get a trade offer anywhere near their desired price range of multiple high-round picks, including a first.

We’ll see what type of demand Foles has when the time comes around, but Mike Vick suggests that the Eagles should strongly consider keeping Foles in the picture as a backup. Since Foles is unproven as a starter and actually has some injury concerns of his own, Vick seems to believe that he’s a great reliever that thrives in Doug Pederson’s system.

The biggest issue with this idea though is obviously the cost. $20 million for a backup? That doesn’t look that great on paper. We’ll see what the Eagles ultimately decide to do very soon though. They still have yet to pick up Foles’ option at this point anyway. Right now, the main focus is on the playoff game this Sunday against the Saints.