The trade for Nick Foles was never going to appease all Chicago Bears fans. Nothing short of rewinding time and redoing the NFL draft in 2017 to grab Patrick Mahomes would do that. Yet the team knew they had to do something. Mitch Trubisky hasn’t gotten the job done. Foles has a Super Bowl ring. He’s played at an extremely high level in the NFL, albeit sporadically in his career.

Still, his critics remain vocal. One of the most persistent arguments against him is his lack of mobility. Foles has never been known for his scrambling prowess. This could make him a sitting duck behind a “terrible” Bears offensive line. They need to keep Trubisky the starter because at least he can move. Except that argument has flaws in it. Foles isn’t nearly the sack machine people think.

Brad Biggs pointed this out in his recent mailbag.

“Over the last four seasons, including playoffs, Foles has attempted 645 passes and been sacked 29 times. I’m not sure he gets sacked as frequently as you believe. Remember when Foles was with the Eagles for the playoff game at Soldier Field after the 2018 season? He mitigated the Khalil Mack-led pass rush by getting the ball out quickly.

I expect him to do that playing for Nagy. Granted, a lot of that action for Foles came behind an excellent offensive line in Philadelphia, but his ability to make reads quickly and get the ball out might help the Bears line more than he hurts it by not being able to elude pass rushers.”

Nick Foles isn’t nearly the sack machine people think

The reality is a difference exists between quarterbacks who are mobile and quarterbacks who are hard to sack. Since his rookie year in 2012, Foles has been sacked 95 times. This is in games where he had at least 10 dropbacks. He threw 1,681 passes in those games. That is an average of taking one ever 17.69 passing attempts. By contrast, Trubisky has been sacked 93 times under those same conditions. He’s thrown 1,277 passes. That is an average of a sack every 13.73 passing attempts.

So while Trubisky might be more mobile, he’s also proven easier to sack. His defenders will say it was because of bad offensive line play. While that is partly true, it’s also because he struggles to get rid of the football. He doesn’t see the field well and often if his first read isn’t there he hesitates and starts looking for an outlet to run. That allows the pass rush to set in.

Foles isn’t the most nimble guy and has taken his share of unnecessary hits, but he sees the field much better and understands when to get the ball out fast. It is this crucial difference that the Bears suffered through with Trubisky. How different would 2019 have gone if Foles had been able to deliver just a few extra positive plays that ended up sacks instead?

This is why they traded for him.