Rams GM Les Snead: Foles deal “definitely realistic”

By Michael Condon | Jul 31, 2015

As franchise tags have all been assigned and the lucky few receiving the long term deals they wanted, contract talks around the league will begin to die down. Out in St. Louis though, things continue to simmer for Nick Foles and the possibility of signing a long-term deal with the team. Usually, in a case like this, silence means the two sides are continuing to talk. No news can mean good news is close behind.

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Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports Rams general manager, Les Snead, spoke on Thursday about the on going negotiations with Foles and his camp.

"“I do think he’s excited about what’s around him. He thinks we’ll all be successful and that usually means success for the individual as well.”"

Snead has been impressed with Foles since he joined the Rams this spring.

"“It’s not like he had been the quarterback here for two years, you had a case of of his first day at school, hello to everybody, we don’t know each other. He kind of took charge there. You can tell the guys will battle, he’s done a nice job with leadership. That’s the biggest thing I can say about him.”"

It’s rare a quarterback of Foles caliber and potential gets traded in today’s NFL. Some might say it happens as infrequently as a former number one overall selection like Sam Bradford, the piece St. Louis gave up to acquire Foles, also gets traded. There are pros and cons to offering an extension to Foles this offseason.

Mar 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles is introduced to the media at Rams Park. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

The cons begin with the Foles’ relatively small body of work as a starting quarterback. He had an amazing 2013 with 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions, but outside of that, Foles has been average at best. With mostly just game film to go on the Rams might be taking a large risk signing Foles long-term and may come to find out 2013 might have just been a flash in the pan.

However, on the other side of that coin, his short resume may offer what could be the makings of a discount for St. Louis. The Rams hold plenty of leverage in this area. They can keep the numbers relatively small, maybe even slightly below market value, and still have a great chance at locking down the quarterback for the next 4-5 years.

We have seen situations in the past were potential franchise quarterbacks have bet on themselves and gone into a contract year without a long-term deal. Most notably might be Joe Flacco leading the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl victory and earning himself, at the time, the largest contract in NFL history.

Foles spoke earlier this spring about this very topic. He didn’t elude to much, but said he had no plans of playing out the season without a deal in hopes of betting on himself to gain leverage in negotiations.

The Rams find themselves in an interesting spot. On one hand, you can sign a mostly unproven quarterback to a big money deal in hopes he will pan out, or you can pass on the idea and have Foles play out his current contract. However, if Foles proceeds to have a great year in 2015, he could command even more money at the end of the year. This is something that doesn’t seem to bother Snead.

“I always go into this, hey if a QB is playing well and you’re winning, having team success, you have no problem asking your owner to write the check. They’ve earned it and they’ve done it, so that’s what makes this one a little more interesting.”