A day after his release from the Colts, former Eagles Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles gets personal

The Super Bowl MVP-winning quarterback offered insight in an appearance Saturday at Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif., speaking on the inevitability of a career coming to a close and what comes next.

Former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, wearing a mask and holding the Super Bowl LII championship trophy, is revered for his role in the Birds' victory to cap the 2017-18 season. This image of him was photographed in the Hawthorne neighborhood.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

by Kerith Gabriel

Published May 6, 2023, 5:43 p.m. ET

In Philly, he’s a legend.

But it seems like everywhere else, it takes people a second to recognize Nick Foles, the 11-year NFL journeyman quarterback, one who most notably led the Eagles to their Super Bowl victory — en route to game MVP honors.

But Foles seems fine with the move into obscurity — in fact, it’s embraced as he tries to discover his true self. During an appearance Saturday at Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif., a day after his release from the Indianapolis Colts, Foles spoke on the inevitability of a career coming to a close and what options are next.

During the event, Foles told a story about a pickleball game he played recently, in which his opponent had no clue that the 6-foot-6, 242-pound Texas native he was playing was a Super Bowl MVP.

“I said [to the guy], ‘My name’s Nick.’ I had glasses on, backward hat,” Foles said. “[He said], ‘Man, you should have been like an NFL tight end with how big you are.’ ... [I told him] I actually just finished my 11th year in the NFL. He asked what position, [I said], ‘I play quarterback,’ [and] told him I played for the Eagles. [He said], ‘Y’all almost won the Super Bowl.’ [I told him] I actually did win the Super Bowl, [he goes], ‘Oh, you didn’t play in the game though. You were backing up.’”

Since Foles took over for an injured Carson Wentz and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl win against the Patriots during the 2017-18 Eagles season, his NFL career has been a series of stops — with few starts — in Jacksonville, Chicago, and Indianapolis, where he appeared in just three games behind starter Matt Ryan, starting two before suffering a rib injury in Week 17.

The writing appeared to be on the wall for Foles, who was one of four quarterbacks on the Colts’ roster, including former Eagles backup Gardner Minshew. Further muddying the waters was Indianapolis selecting Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson as the No. 4 pick in last weekend’s NFL draft. If his career does end here, it will be one in which Foles completed 62.4% of his passes for 14,227 yards and 82 touchdowns over his 11 seasons.

“I was just released yesterday by the Colts, which is actually a good thing, so don’t cry for me. It’s OK,” Foles said. “The coach that I was there for, [former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich], was fired. Their GM and I had a good relationship. It’s all good. Everything’s fine.”

So what does that mean for Foles? He did hint at retirement, but it wouldn’t be the first time Foles considered calling his NFL career quits.

“Shoot, almost every year of my career I’ve almost retired,” Foles said. “Every offseason, I think, ‘Do I still want to play? Do I still want to keep going?’ Specifically this last year with everything, God’s really been testing my identity in the game because I was able to get rid of it many years ago, and it was just all about Christ. But [with the] Super Bowl and different experiences, it starts creeping back in. That’s sort of what you’re recognized for. But then people get to know me, and they’re like, ‘He’s just a goofball. He’s just like any one of us.’ I mean, maybe I played in the NFL, but definitely, I’m just a man. I’m just a human. I have the same faults.”

In the meantime, Foles says free-agent life offers an opportunity to grow and be present with his family. Foles, whose wife, Tori, is the sister of former Eagles teammate Evan Moore, welcomed a daughter a few months before the 2017-18 season. He also has a son who was born at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“When I find myself being fully present [with my children] and engaging in what they are doing, whether it’s building Legos or watching a show or playing soccer, when I find that child in my heart, time goes by and we have fun,” said Foles. “Finding that way of being present with them, realizing that wow, when they’re older this is going to matter. It’s not going to matter that I played in the NFL or won a Super Bowl.”

Foles’ release kicked off yet another offseason of uncertainty for him, but he’s happy with his identity — whether or not it features him on an NFL roster.

“At the end of the day, it’s been many years since the [Super Bowl win], and it doesn’t define me,” Foles said. “Like I was just signing an autograph, and I had to think ... they wanted ‘Super Bowl LII MVP,’ but I said, ‘Wait, what Super Bowl was that again?’ Because I don’t really think about it ... life goes on. And the most important thing for me right now is being the best father and the best husband I can be — not necessarily the best football player.

“Doing all these different things in my career the last couple of years hasn’t actually been how I would want it to go. But [I feel like] it’s how God needed it to go for me to learn. And I don’t know what that is right now, but I know someday He’ll point it out to me. And the big thing will be to make sure my identity’s in Christ.”