The Bears couldn’t trade Nick Foles, so now they’re releasing him.
About two years after the Bears traded for Foles to compete with Mitch Trubisky for the starting job, they’re cutting him with one year left on his contract.
First-year general manager Ryan Poles moved on quickly after he was hired; in March, he signed Trevor Siemien to be Justin Fields’ backup, saying he was a better fit. Poles said later that month that the Bears were trying to trade the former Super Bowl MVP.
When the draft ended without a deal, Poles was asked Saturday night what his plans were for Foles. He said the Bears planned to “have some conversations and see where we want to go next” with him.
Mere minutes later, word leaked that the Bears were cutting him.
Former Bears GM Ryan Pace sent the Jaguars a fourth-round pick for Foles in March 2020 and re-structured his contract into a three-year deal.
Trubisky began the season as the starter before being replaced in the third quarter of a Week 3 game in Atlanta. Foles rallied the Bears to a 20-point fourth-quarter comeback. Two weeks later, he beat the eventual Super Bowl champion Buccaneers on “Thursday Night Football.”
Foles struggled behind a makeshift offensive line, though, going 2-5 as the starter in 2020. In a press conference during training camp, Foles said he felt better than he did during his Super Bowl season. He made one start last season, beating the Seahawks with Andy Dalton and Fields out.
