Rams To Release Nick Foles

2:59pm: Foles agreed to accept a lower guaranteed salary from the Rams in 2016 to win his release and be free to sign with any team, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. The Rams have confirmed the move via press release.

2:38pm: The Rams are expected to release quarterback Nick Foles, sources tell Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (on Twitter). The team was looking to trade the signal caller, but a deal never materialized. As a vested veteran, Foles will not be subject to waivers and will immediately become a free agent. Foles requested his release from the Rams and the team granted it, Garafolo adds (on Twitter). Nick Foles (vertical)

Foles, 27, drew trade interest around draft time, but ultimately wasn’t moved. Albert Breer of The MMQB recently reported that Los Angeles was holding onto Foles for the time being in the hopes that he could accrue more value as training camp drew near. Apparently, that never happened for L.A.

Because the Rams already paid out Foles’ guaranteed $6MM roster bonus, an acquiring club only would have been on the hook for Foles’ $1.75MM base salary — a palatable figure for a backup quarterback. If any clubs did show serious interest in Foles, then they were unwilling to give up assets in addition to paying that modest salary. As an unencumbered free agent, Foles can be expected to field calls from multiple teams with question marks on the QB depth chart.

Acquired by the Rams in the trade that sent Sam Bradford to the Eagles, the two quarterbacks have wound up in strikingly similar situations. Last offseason, Foles inked a two-year, $24.5MM extension that included nearly $13.8MM in guarantees. Foles opened the season as the starter under center in 2015 but was benched in favor of Case Keenum after throwing seven touchdowns against six interceptions.

Late last month, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ran down seven teams that could have interest in Foles. The Cowboys – who ran through several QBs in 2015 – were among the clubs cited as potential suitors. One also has to imagine that the Jets could express interest given their murky quarterback situation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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