Foles excited to participate in first day of camp
Nick Foles is not like most NFL starting quarterbacks.
He rarely picked up a football to throw during his summer break before training camp.
Foles did what most people do when they get time off — he used his five-week break between the end of last month’s mandatory minicamp to the start of training camp to rest his arm.
Foles and his teammates returned to work Thursday, and their focus was clearly on getting back to where they left off from the offseason program.
But Foles said Thursday’s 2 1⁄2-hour practice was only his third time throwing since the final minicamp practice June 13.
And one of his pass-andcatch sessions wasn’t with receivers. It was with his wife and brother-in-law in the backyard of their home a few weeks ago.
But Foles said don’t worry about his pre-training camp preparations. He intends to deliver for the Jaguars, especially after signing a four-year, $88 million contract in March to become their franchise quarterback to replace Blake Bortles, now a backup with the Los Angeles Rams.
Foles said not throwing much during the summer break is the same routine he has followed since 2012, when he was a rookie with the Philadelphia Eagles. And a little summer-break time without throwing a football definitely wasn’t a factor after he emerged over the past two seasons with Philadelphia in place of injured starter Carson Wentz and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots after the 2017 season.
“In the offseason, guys have different routines. I always like getting away from it a little bit,” Foles said. “That’s something I’ve always done.”
Foles gathered some of his receivers Wednesday, after they reported to camp, for some throws.
During Thursday’s work, Foles wasn’t as sharp as he was during the offseason program.
A few passes sailed a little low, and a deep pass intended for wide receiver Chris Conley was underthrown and deflected by cornerback Tre Herndon.
Foles also made a few fabulous throws in 11-on-11 work, which included a quick-strike pass across the middle to wide receiver Dede Westbrook and another in the flat to running back Leonard Fournette.
Coach Doug Marrone doesn’t care what Foles did on his summer break but expects production throughout training camp and into the regular season.
“That is why it is a performance-based business, and you have to make sure you are ready to go and do the things during the week. But you are going to be judged, myself included, the coaches included, on what you do on that Sunday,” Marrone said. “The expectations [for Foles] are high, as they are for everyone.”
At the opening practice, some fans in the crowd at the practice field wore Eagles jerseys with Foles’ old number (9). And they cheered when he made completions.
“I just love the first day,” Foles said. “I was excited to get back and throw and fire it around. You know that you might not be as accurate, and you may not be as great on your deep ball. That’s part of it. But I felt like I’m more hypersensitive to all my fundamentals on these days, and I get to go out there and have fun and get it back.”