The Philadephia Eagles ended their season last Sunday in New Orleans. The reigning champions were on the verge of committing another upset, having a 14-0 lead and several big opportunities to increase it and solve the matchup in Big Easy.
However, they failed to achieve that. Nelson Agholor’s mistake on Nick Foles’ pass cost the Eagles the NFC Championship game.
Despite the loss, the organization is very proud of this season’s result and they already started making plans for the next one. Of course, the question of all questions, and the one which interests the fans the most, is Nick Foles’s future.
The guy who earned the status of a legend in Philly, and who became the favorite son of this city will probably have to leave it. Once again.
“Yes, Carson Wentz is the quarterback going forward,” coach Doug Pederson told earlier today at the press conference. Pedersen was accompanied by Howie Roseman, Eagles executive vice president of football operations.
It sounds like the Eagles will be sticking with Wentz at QB. pic.twitter.com/G33Zhc0dpU
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 15, 2019
What many thought, eventually happened. The board wants to stick with their long-term project and the guy they picked second overall in the 2016 draft.
Wentz was always the first choice, but the bad luck and his injuries in the crucial parts of the season separated him from the field, and prevented the 25-year old from showing his full potential.
Now, Nick Foles used that in the best possible way, with leading the Eagles to the long-awaited Super Bowl, and clinching the Sper Bowl LII MVP award.
But that isn’t going to earn him a place in the starting lineup. Coach Pedersen was pretty much clear today when speaking about it.
“And in Nick’s case, listen, we’d love to have everybody back throughout the roster, but as I’ve said many, many times, it’s not about one guy, it’s about the team, and we’re going to do what’s best for the team.”
So, the team comes first for the Eagles’ HC, which is understandable. It’s maybe not fair from some other point of view, but it does make sense if you want to run a successful NFL franchise.
So far, Foles had just one good regular season, a solid ending of this campaign, and one superb playoff run, with pretty much inconsistent performances in all other cases.
During 2017, Wentz had an MVP charge, which was interrupted by the harsh injury. Philly went 11-2 and was the unstoppable force in the league that year.
The situation has been a bit different this season, as the team went up and down suffering from a “Super Bowl hangover” syndrome. Wentz still managed to throw 21 TD pass with 7 interceptions in first 11 games.
It is why the franchise executives want him to be the starting quarterback. However, that doesn’t mean giving up on Foles at any cost.
Vice president Roseman said that the whole organization has a lot of confidence in Wentz, but that they also want to find a way to keep his backup, who is more than just an ordinary player.
“We would love to keep Nick Foles,” Roseman said. “You talk about a guy we drafted here and we’ve grown incredibly close with.”
It is a difficult situation. On one side, Foles has fans and the respect of the whole city in Philadelphia, and something which he might even refer as a home. On other, he doesn’t have a spot in the starting lineup, which is something very important to him, being at the start of his 30’s and the entering the prime for one quarterback.
Nick Foles, a Philadelphia legend. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WDRH7T5DGZ
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) January 14, 2019
There aren’t any doubts that many franchises in the league are willing to sign this guy. And not just sign him, but offer a nice salary along with that. His charismatic approach and the level of calmness in critical situations are something which can’t be harmful to any team.
The time for a decision has come. Philly made its own, it is up to Foles now, to make his.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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