After 10 years, the Sam Bradford/Nick Foles trade was massive for the Rams and Eagles — but not because of those players.
Given all the success that the Eagles have experienced over the past several seasons, it’s easy to forget the tough times. One of the hallmarks of the current era is stability at quarterback, with Jalen Hurts manning the position for the past four seasons as a full-time starter. But you don’t have to go back very far to find a time when that stability was not the standard, and this season marks ten years since a pivotal trade that would drastically change the quarterback room of two NFL franchises.
I’m speaking of course of the now-infamous Sam Bradford/Nick Foles trade, which saw the St. Louis Rams send Sam Bradford to the Eagles in exchange for Nick Foles and a pair of picks including a second-rounder. This was a headline-grabbing trade at the time that wound up completely upending the quarterback position of two NFL teams… but not in the way anyone would’ve expected at the time.
Let’s take a look back at this storied trade and determine once and for all who came out ahead.
Original terms of the Sam Bradford/Nick Foles trade
- Eagles receive: QB Sam Bradford, 2015 fifth-round pick (145)
- Rams receive: QB Nick Foles, 2016 second-round pick (43), 2015 fourth-round pick (119)
How was Sam Bradford’s performance for the Eagles?
Sam Bradford would go on to play just a single season for the Eagles, starting 14 games and putting together a 7-7 record. Bradford’s play was up-and-down, managing 3,725 yards (65% completion), 19 TDs, and 14 INTs with a solid 7.0 YPA. Bradford missed two games in Weeks 11-12 due to injury, with the Eagles losing both. Bradford’s best value to Philadelphia would come the next year, as he signed a two-year extension before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2017 first-round pick (17) and 2018 fourth-round pick (130).
Who did the Eagles select with the picks from the Sam Bradford/Nick Foles trades?
In total, the Eagles acquired three picks from the Sam Bradford trades: a 2015 fifth-rounder (145), a 2017 first-rounder (17), and a 2018 fourth-rounder (130). The 2015 pick was packaged as a part of a trade-up with the Miami Dolphins which led to the selection of defensive back Eric Rowe. Philadelphia would go on to select a pair of edge rushers with the two picks they acquired a year later after trading Bradford: Derek Barnett with pick 17 in the 2017 NFL Draft, and Josh Sweat with pick 130 in the 2018 NFL Draft.
How was Nick Foles’ performance for the Rams?
Nick Foles wound up starting 11 games for the Rams in 2015, his only season with the team. He passed for 2,052 yards (56.4% completion) at 6.1 YPA, with 7 TDs and 10 INTs. Foles was a below-average starter in St. Louis and was supplanted by Case Keenum to close out the year. Foles was released by the Rams during training camp the following year, spending a year as the backup for the Kansas City Chiefs before eventually making his way back to the Eagles in 2017.
Who did the Rams select with the picks from the Sam Bradford/Nick Foles trade?
The Rams received a 2016 second-round pick (43) and a 2015 fourth-round pick (119) from the Eagles in the Sam Bradford trade. There was also a conditional sixth-round pick involved that was not conferred. St. Louis would select offensive lineman Andrew Donnal with pick 119 in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Rams would then use pick 43 as a part of a trade-up to number 1 overall with the Tennessee Titans in the 2016 NFL Draft, which St. Louis then used to draft quarterback Jared Goff.
Who won the Sam Bradford/Nick Foles trade between the Eagles and the Rams?
There are a ton of moving pieces involved with this trade that muddy the waters a bit for a clean interpretation.
The Eagles have to be pretty happy about how this turned out, because it could’ve very easily become a catastrophic and very expensive mistake after a lackluster first year from Sam Bradford. Philadelphia instead took an aggressive approach to the situation by moving on from Bradford via a trade to the Vikings which returned outstanding value. The Eagles would go on to use those picks to acquire two major contributors on defense in Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat while reducing the financial burden of the Bradford contract.
The Rams, meanwhile, have to be disappointed about how this played out. Nick Foles didn’t provide starting-caliber play in St. Louis and was released after just one season. Andrew Donnal only managed six starts for the Rams over two years and was released during the 2017 season. St. Louis did package the 2016 second-round pick in a massive trade-up for Jared Goff, which worked out well for the Rams over time. But while the pick certainly helped get the deal done, it was only a complementary piece in a trade package that ultimately involved two firsts, two seconds, and a third. That prevents this trade from becoming a major disaster for the Rams, but can only do so much.
At the end of the day, this trade was pivotal for both teams in determining their future at quarterback…that future just didn’t involve Sam Bradford or Nick Foles directly. Interestingly, neither of the quarterbacks involved would spend more than a year with the team that traded for them–although Foles would eventually make his heroic return to Philadelphia years later, and the rest is history.
Both teams did manage to flip the assets obtained in these trades to make significant moves, but the Eagles extracted significantly more value out of the deal. At the end of the day, they come away as the winner.
WINNER: Eagles
