Rookie minicamp has come and gone and voluntary OTAs are scattered across the summer calendar like your weekend fishing excursions. Besides a three-day mandatory workout in early June, there aren’t too many events for Colts fans to look forward to until training camp in August. So how do those of us that create content come up with exciting storylines to keep fans engaged?
I introduce you to the most challenging part of covering a professional sports team in the offseason. The dog days of the time between the draft and training camp produce the much-dreaded writer’s block that you probably know all too well from writing papers in high school or college.
Despite this, as a writer, it is important to stay focused and prepared because you never know when the next big piece of news is going to drop. A mid-afternoon Mike Garafolo, or more recently, our very own Rashaad McGinnis, tweet could send you scrambling to your laptop trying to get a story out as quickly as possible.
The Indianapolis Colts and Nick Foles has agreed to a deal, contract details are not known at this time. The former Super Bowl MVP will be reunited with Frank Reich and Chris Ballard #Colts #ForTheShoe
— The King Of Colts👑 (@ShaadMcGinnis) May 21, 2022
Nick Foles and the #Colts have now agreed to terms on a two-year deal, source says. Foles and Frank Reich officially reunited, this time with Foles as Matt Ryan’s backup.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) May 23, 2022
So, while Matt Ryan has only missed a grand total of three games during his illustrious fourteen-year career, whoever wins the Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback job, much like your favorite Colts writers, must be ready for any situation thrown their way.
Enter thirty-three-year-old Austin, Texas native Nick Foles.
Nick Foles is many things, a Super Bowl Champion and MVP, Pro Bowler, and current holder of two NFL single-game records (passing touchdowns and consecutive pass completions). There is also an important thing that Nick Foles is not; a starting quarterback in the NFL. While Foles’ career accomplishments are eye-popping, he will be on his sixth NFL team in eleven years, including two stints with the Eagles. Since he entered the league as a third-round draft pick of the Eagles in 2012, the former Arizona University quarterback has become one of the most infamous and polarizing players of this generation.
So what does Nick Foles bring to the Colts? Well barring an unlikely Matt Ryan injury prior to week 1, Foles will not be the starter on September 11th in Houston. That fact alone gives the Colts a massive advantage when trying to project any potential Foles playing time in the regular season and/or playoffs. For my baseball fans out there, we can say that the former Eagles quarterback is a fantastic relief pitcher who could simply never be a starter. Every year that he has started week one for his team, (2014 with the Eagles, 2015 with the Rams, 2018 with the Eagles, and 2019 with the Jaguars), he has switched teams the following year.
You know the story though, every time Foles has come in to relieve an injured or struggling quarterback, his performance has yielded positive results. The magical 2017 Super Bowl run is evidence of this phenomenon, in which Foles had Frank Reich as his offensive coordinator. What people tend to forget however is what the then second-year quarterback did in 2013 for Philadelphia, leading the league in passer rating while manufacturing a sterling 27-2 touchdown to interception ratio.
Foles’ career thus far has been like the tide at the beach, ebbing and flowing with his team’s expectations of him. Every time the weight of a team is put on the thirty-three-year-old to perform as the “franchise quarterback”, he has wavered. But when the starter has gone down or underperformed, St. Nick has clutched up, showcasing the magical ice that must surely exist in his veins.
Nick Foles may be one of the most clutch players in NFL history while also being the most puzzling. He’s a cult hero in the Delaware Valley, his bust is forever cemented outside of Lincoln Financial Field, while conversely starring as the main character in another sad chapter of Jacksonville Jaguars lore.
But Frank Reich has already calculated the odds, and he knows that Foles is the ace he’ll need on the river.
Dude the only reason Nick foles isn’t a starter in this league, is that no one wants to hear about God on a fanatic level anymore. This world has changed . Foles is one of the last true believers who fanatically believes. It’s sad, he has the awareness, the arm strength, the accuracy. The problem is his beliefs. Owners are afraid it would detour fans . Foles has had the worst offensive lines in football as a starter. We all see what he can do with a good offensive line infront of him . Superbowl MVP. If Jeffries had caught the ball he was back to the championship game . Probably back to back superbowl MVP status also. I pray to God that he gets another ring. Get it. Lol. This line colts line is good. And good targets at wide out. He just might show the owners what’s up. If he gets a chance.