Philadelphia Eagles: 5 reasons Nick Foles should start over Carson Wentz in Week 1
By Dan Parzych
![MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles is congratulated by his teammate Carson Wentz #11 after his 11-yard touchdown pass during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles is congratulated by his teammate Carson Wentz #11 after his 11-yard touchdown pass during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/b48e51fcc0c5bb8a89c1c48fba525f134f36c48cd9a39c650d10445c39198758.jpg)
1. This situation is why Philadelphia kept Foles around
After winning their first Super Bowl title in franchise history, the Eagles were viewed as the team with the best quarterback situation in the NFL since they not only had an effective starter in Wentz, but also a backup that took home MVP honors in the big game. During the offseason, Philadelphia knew they could easily send Foles off to another team in exchange for a high draft pick, but when seeing what he was able to accomplish last season, it seemed clear the only reason they would was if it came at his request.
At the end of the day, keeping Foles around with all of the uncertainty surrounding Wentz being ready to go for September was the best decision the Eagles could have made to give them the best chance of repeating as champions. As much as the team wants Wentz to be ready to go, the biggest benefit to keeping Foles around was knowing the offense would still remain in great shape when looking at the high level he was playing on during the months of January and February.
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Reliable backup quarterbacks can be difficult to find in the NFL, and some teams, like the Green Bay Packers for instance, struggled last season as a result of losing their star player under center. Foles could easily have gone to a different team to become the new starter, but thank goodness the Eagles were smart enough to keep him around since they could be heading towards the situation they feared the most about Wentz taking lover to recover than expected at first.