NFL execs debate Nick Foles' future: To trade or not to trade?

— -- MINNEAPOLIS -- The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles face a potential quarterback dilemma after Nick Foles lit up the New England Patriots' offense Sunday to cap an impressive late-season run to a championship.

Foles joins a relatively long list of unexpected Super Bowl starters facing potentially uncertain futures. Tom Brady, Doug Williams, Jim Plunkett, Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach became regular starters for their teams the following season. Trent Dilfer left his team in free agency.

Foles is signed through the 2018 season, and will be the backup if he remains on the team and Wentz recovers, which puts him in a different situation. Philly does not need to unload him in the interests of clarity at the position. To the contrary, the Eagles have at least some incentive to carry Foles on their roster while Wentz recovers.

Do the Eagles hold onto Foles as insurance for injured starter Carson Wentz, or do they try to trade Foles while his value is at its peak?

I posed the question to 10 NFL insiders Sunday night. Their answers might surprise you.

Six of the 10 insiders -- a collection of general managers, personnel directors, salary-cap analysts and coaches -- felt the Eagles would try to deal Foles this offseason. Some of the arguments against a trade were compelling, however.

A salary-cap analyst said he thought Eagles general manager Howie Roseman would look to "sell off assets before they depreciate" if feasible. He thought the Eagles would have to make the trade if they could get a second-round pick in return, a price multiple insiders thought Philly might be able to get after Sunday night. But if the return were lower, the cap analyst thought, the Eagles might as well hold onto Foles.

A former GM called Roseman a "horse trader," while saying he expected Philly to deal Foles this offseason.

"He is the most active trader in the league," another former GM said, "and he is not afraid to make the big move."

However, one personnel director wasn't sure how many teams would be lining up to acquire Foles unless current Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo winds up coaching somewhere else in 2018. A current GM questioned how the Eagles could deal Foles with Wentz injured.

A veteran coach, noting that Foles had suffered through a difficult experience with a 2015 St. Louis Rams team featuring a staff he did not know, questioned whether Foles would want to start over someplace else. He said Foles, after winning a Super Bowl, could be the type who might even prefer retirement over playing for someone other than the coaches he trusts. Those coaches include current Eagles coach Doug Pederson, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy. Those three coaches already have starting quarterbacks.

The veteran coach said he thought Philadelphia would hold on to Foles in part because Wentz might not be ready in time for the season and because the team's owner, Jeff Lurie, has considered the backup position to be an important one, as the case was for the team this season. However, this coach also stressed that Lurie, like Roseman, loves getting picks in return for players who do not figure prominently into their plans (who doesn't?).

The Eagles' aggressiveness in past trade markets has been a defining trait for them.

"They have done it before, and the owner was good with it," another insider said. "When the owner is behind it, you've gotta consider it."

Foles completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards with three touchdowns and one tipped interception during the Eagles' victory Sunday. He looked even better than the quarterback who completed 27 touchdown passes with two interceptions for Philly in the 2013 season. He had thrown 23 touchdowns with 20 picks over the 2014-16 seasons, including an especially rough run with the Rams in 2015.

"I like how he climbs the pocket," a veteran coach said after the game. "He was getting touched and did not freak out. Foles keeps his eyes up and throws for completions."

To trade or not to trade?

Human factors would seem to be at work here also. The Eagles cannot plausibly view Foles as merely an "asset" to be maximized while knowing how much this experience has meant to him and how much he has meant to them. Foles nearly retired after becoming disillusioned after a rough 2015 season with the St. Louis Rams. A starting job elsewhere might not be the most important thing to him at this point.

It's all part of what makes this a compelling offseason storyline within an already compelling overall veteran quarterback market.