Nick Foles is excited by the prospect of competing to be the Chicago Bears' starting quarterback after the team confirmed it would hold an "open competition" at the position.
The Bears brought in Foles in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, dealing a fourth-round draft selection for the man who guided the Philadelphia Eagles to a victory in Super Bowl 52.
That move piled the pressure on incumbent starter Mitchell Trubisky, whose job is now under threat three years after he was drafted No. 2 overall by general manager Ryan Pace.
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Foles, 31, has already spoken to Trubisky and hopes they can put the team first going into training camp.
"The opportunity to be a full-time starter and do those things is something any player would love to do in the right situation," Foles told reporters. "It's an opportunity I'm excited for.
"Mitch and I have already talked and we want to start out on the right foot. Ultimately, it's all about what’s best for the Chicago Bears."
Pace and coach Matt Nagy have praised the way Trubisky has taken to the challenge of Foles' arrival.
"With the addition of Nick Foles, it's exactly what we talked about from the start — we want to create competition," Pace said. "We've talked to both players and it's an open competition. We understand the focus is on the quarterback position.
"It's been a focus for us with the addition of Nick Foles. We've increased competition at a critical position, we talked to both players, and credit to both those guys for embracing it."
Nagy believes the blame for Trubisky being unable to hit the heights of other QBs in the early stages of his NFL career should be shared.
"What we're trying to do is what's best for the Chicago Bears, plain and simple," he said. "You could feel how much of a competitor Mitch is. He's embracing it and he's excited to get back to work.
"Part of the conversation we discussed, too, was understanding the big picture. I know Mitch gets a lot of this, but we could have been a lot better coaching, schematically. I could have been a better head coach. And then as we all know, we can all be better as players around him as well. That's the focus there.
"Mitch has had an unbelievable personality throughout it. All he wants to do is be the best quarterback he can be for the Chicago Bears. And when we walk in on the first day, whenever it is, Mitch will be first in the huddle."