The Philadelphia Eagles made a surprising move ahead of free agency by trading LeSean McCoy and Chip Kelly could consider a trade with Nick Foles this offseason, as he is reportedly interested in drafting his former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and if that happens, teams like the NY Jets, Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans or Buccaneers could be interested.
Foles is coming into the offseason after missing eight games with a shoulder injury and while he has been solid under Chip Kelly, the team could consider a trade. According to NJ.com, Kelly is interested in moving up in the draft to select Marcus Mariota and the team could be "plotting multiple moves" to make it happen. The site previously reported that the St. Louis Rams could be interested in trading for Foles, as they have Sam Bradford coming back from another knee surgery.
The report says that the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans also could be interested in Foles and after Kelly traded McCoy, there's no predicting what the Eagles could do. Kelly was given control over team personnel this offseason after Howie Roseman was moved to the business side of the team and he clearly is exerting it. Kelly has all seven of his draft picks and now that he has moved McCoy (once the deal is official next week) the team will have more cap space to work with.
The Texans went 9-7 while using four different quarterbacks last season and adding a player like Foles or Jay Cutler could put the team over the top. The Texans have the number two pick in the draft and they could be a target for Foles if the Eagles want to jump up and get Mariota. Last season Foles played in eight games and threw for 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Foles had his best season in 2013 when he had 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 13 games while completing over 63 percent of his passes.
The new about Kelly and his interest in Mariota has been going around since before the quarterback declared for the draft due to the fact that he coached him at Oregon. Mariota won the Heisman trophy and made it to the national title game and while scouts have Jameis Winston rated higher than him in most mock drafts, Kelly is clearly interested. Kelly uses a unique offensive system and it's the same type of offense that Mariota ran in college.
The Eagles have Jeremy Maclin hitting free agency after a career year and while the Eagles want to keep him, he is likely to get targeted by teams on the free agent market. With McCoy traded, the Eagles may look at players like CJ Spiller, Mark Ingram or Justin Forsett on the free agent market, while Reggie Bush also could be a fit.
The move of McCoy could mean that Jeremy Maclin returns in free agency and if Kelly trades Foles, that is a likely move to ensure the team has some offensive firepower left. The draft will become even more important if Kelly trades Foles and the running back position will likely be a focus. Players like Ameer Abdullah, TJ Yeldon, Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley could be potential targets to replace McCoy for Kelly. McCoy was one of the most productive backs in football over the last five seasons and now he is on his way to the Bills.