Nick Foles just lead the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl win in franchise history, a fact that almost everyone in America knows by now. Not only did he reign in their first Lombardi trophy, he did it against Tom Brady and the Patriots, an even harder feat and a testament to his competing-under-pressure stability.
But, for the MVP, his fate is yet to be determined by his team that he stepped in for late in the season when Carson Wentz suffered an ACL injury. The same guy who contemplated retirement in 2016 after years of frustration and limited success. Also the same guy who had the highest playoff passer rating in NFL history among quarterbacks with at least 125 attempts.
Next season, it is hard for anyone to fathom Foles falling back into a second string position with the Eagles. Unless the team rearranges their options when it comes to their starting quarterback, Foles is heading into free agency in 2019 and may take an offer from somewhere else if he’s not traded before then.
Possible options include the Vikings, Broncos, Browns, Bills, Jets and Cardinals, as they could all use the addition of a quarterback this off-season. For teams who are struggling to make playoff runs with their current starters, picking up a QB who just won the whole thing isn’t a bad idea. The Eagles would be smart to take up an offer on Foles due to his spike in popularity and lucrative deals they could get out of it. They then, of course, would be left with a gap in their previous ‘elite backup QB’ spot.
Another approach the Eagles could take is keeping Foles as the backup to Wentz until his contract is up, even though that brings us to the same unfathomable predicament. Philadelphia could do this, however, if they have fears of Wentz not being 100 percent come Week 1. The Eagles could also hand the entire job over to Foles – but going up against the franchise QB is tough… so that possibility I unlikely.
No one can say where he’ll end up next season, but his story is one for the books. From high school superstar, to Michigan State University where he sat on the bench, to the University of Arizona where he excelled but the team not so much, to 88th pick in the third round of the 2012 draft, to being traded to the Rams then picked up by the chiefs, to ending up back with the Eagles and leading them to a championship. Foles’ underdog story appeals to all and the spotlight will be on him for the next couple of months.
