Vikings: Would Nick Foles be an upgrade over Shaun Hill?
Rumor has it the Minnesota Vikings are interested in Nick Foles as the backup quarterback. Would he be any better than incumbent backup Shaun Hill?
Shaun Hill has been in the league since 2005. During his career, Hill has thrown 1,190 passes for 8,053 yards (6.77 yards per attempt), 49 touchdowns (a touchdown every 24.3 pass attempts) and 30 interceptions (an interception every 39.7 pass attempts). Hill has a 62% career completion rate, and a quarterback rating of 85.2.
On Wednesday, the St. Louis Los Angeles Rams released Nick Foles, and it hasn’t taken long for the rumor mill to start spewing out connections between him and the Minnesota Vikings.
Traveling, unsure if this is out there: 1. Source said Foles likely to #Vikings, #Bills or #Cowboys. 2. #Jets expressed interest in Foles
— Jason Cole (@JasonCole62) July 28, 2016
Would the Vikings be making a good move by replacing current backup Shaun Hill with Foles?
Nick Foles has been in the league since 2012, when he was a third round pick by the Eagles. Since then, Foles has thrown 1,230 passes for 8,805 yards (7.16 yards per attempt), 53 touchdowns (one every 23.2 pass attempts) and 27 interceptions (one every 45.6 pass attempts). Foles has a 60.2% completion rate, and a quarterback rating of 87.3.
So just looking at the raw numbers, Foles has the advantage over Hill in nearly every single statistical category. Another area where Foles has the advantage is age; Foles is only 27 years old, while Hill is 36.
The first concern about the Vikings signing Nick Foles is his contract. Currently, Shaun Hill is making $3.25 million in 2016, and there is no doubt Foles would command more than that. With many young Vikings players due for an extension over the next couple years, the team cannot commit too much money to a backup position.
Another concern about bringing in Foles would be a possible schism in the locker room. Foles reportedly asked for his release after the Rams drafted Jared Goff with the first overall pick. Foles may think he is a starting caliber quarterback, and there is no way he starts over Teddy Bridgewater. Would that cause him to become disgruntled? Only time will tell.
Next: Vikings game-by-game 2016 season preview
The bottom line is: Foles would be a better backup quarterback than Shaun Hill. He is younger and has better career stats. But at the end of the day, the Vikings’ quarterback depth chart isn’t broken, so why attempt to fix it?