Foles is still the ultimate insurance policy
Eagles backup QB may be needed next season
BLOOMINGTON, MINN. » Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles declined to speculate about his future Monday.
Foles is under contract to the Eagles for another year. Considering how he rallied the Eagles to a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, replete with a signature gamewinning drive, it sure would seem a misuse of talent having him watch Carson Wentz run the Eagles’ offense next year.
Does Foles still think he’s a backup? Does anyone?
“I’m not really worried about my future right now,” said Foles, who threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns in the Super Bowl. “I’m grateful to be a part of the Philadelphia Eagles. I said when I signed with the Eagles I’m grateful and content in this moment. I’m staying in the moment. I’m not worried about my future right now. There will be a time and a place to handle all that. But I take a lot of pride in wearing the Philadelphia Eagles jersey. And I just enjoy being here.”
Wentz has said he expects the ACL and LCL ligaments in his left knee to be healthy enough for him to play in the regular season opener. Until then, Foles is the guy, unless of course the Eagles do an Andy Reid and
trade the veteran to say, an AFC team. Foles’ trade value never will be higher than it is now.
Foles is the only player in the history of the NFL to produce a 100-plus passer rating in his first four playoff games. That’s marketable.
Pederson became skittish when asked, point blank, if Wentz still was the starting quarterback, or if there would be an open competition for the job during training camp. And it was a legitimate ask, even if it gave the media cheerleaders in the audience room to snicker. Again, Foles is the Super Bowl MVP, not some guy they picked up off the street (not that there’s anything wrong with the latter.)
“I knew I couldn’t get off this stage without that question,” Pederson said. “You know what, we’re just going to enjoy this moment. We’re going to enjoy it, we’re going to get on the plane and go back to Philadelphia and we’re going to celebrate with our fans back in Philly. We’ve got a long offseason, really a short offseason now. We’re just going to enjoy this moment. I’m happy for Nick, I’m happy for the team, it’s not about one guy, it’s about the team. We’re going to enjoy these next few days.”
Earlier in the presser, Pederson at least hinted that Wentz was the guy. It sure seems the Eagles aren’t ready to give up on the investment they made in Wentz, the ultimate competitor. But he’s hurt. The knee this year and last year, with a concussion confirmed by teammates, although he somehow survived what was a flawed scanning process. He gets hurt.
At any rate, Pederson said he spoke to Wentz on the championship dais after the game. Wentz threw a club-record 33 touchdown passes in 33 games to fuel the Super Bowl run.
“I told him just to take this in, just enjoy this moment,” Pederson said. “He’s a great quarterback and I told him, ‘you’re a big, big part of why this team won this championship and won this game.’ I told him hopefully we’ll be back in this game with him leading the way.”
Hopefully is the operative word. That’s all it can be until Wentz is 100 percent. Until then, there’s no reason for the Eagles to move on from either quarterback.
Foles is the ultimate insurance policy. Or is he worth more in the resources he could bring?
The last thing the Eagles need is a Chip Kelly situation with quarterbacks competing almost daily to be the guy. Or the Pederson situation where one guy’s the starter through training camp, then gets flipped to the Vikings, who, uh, need a No. 1 quarterback – again.
“I’m excited for Carson Wentz coming back healthy,” Foles said. “I get to work with him every day. That dude’s a stud and I’m just living in the moment.”
••• Foles said he got a text message from Drew Brees, a fellow alum from Westlake High in Austin, Texas, before the Super Bowl. It had a calming effect. “We’re 10 years apart, so he’s a guy I always looked up to and still do, ”Foles said. “He just does it the right way. Obviously, he’s one of the greatest of all time. A lot of the message I’ll keep to myself. But the big thing was that going into this game, he just reminded me that it’s just football. There’s a lot of things going on but at the end of the day it will just be football. I was able to settle down really quickly and we were able to get the ball moving.”
••• Both Pederson and Foles celebrated the Super Bowl with their wives and children, as well as family.
Foles embraced his father, who was an example of how to embrace struggles and not be afraid of failure. That has motivated Foles.
“My dad’s always been one of my heroes, him and my mom,” Foles said. “Dad overcame adversity. He didn’t even graduate high school and he’s been very successful in his career path.
“I never really realized until I got older how much he worked, how much he and my mom sacrificed for me and my two younger sisters. So, to share that embrace, all those emotions, that’s something you just cherish forever.”
Pederson lost his father, but the memories were right there with him during the SB celebration.
“He’d be so excited,” Pederson said. “I remember just all of sort of the brow beatings I took from him, through athletics, and the life lessons that sports can teach us, the good and the bad. And I know he was smiling and looking down on us, looking down on me and very happy and very proud obviously. I miss him. This would have been a special moment to have him here.”