Philadelphia Eagles: A Nick Foles-Frank Reich reunion just feels right

Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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When the Indianapolis Colts traded a pair of picks – one of them conditional – for Carson Wentz, it was supposed to be a match made in heaven.

I mean sure, Wentz suffered through arguably the worst season of his career in 2020 and didn’t exactly generate a ton of goodwill around the NovaCare center for how his final few months in the City of Brotherly Love went down, but goodness, surely Frank Reich, the man who helped to orchestrate the offense that made him an MVP favorite, would help to get the NDSU product back on track, right?

… yeah, not so much.

Mind you, Wentz’s production in 2021 wasn’t bad per se, as he threw for 3,563 yards and 27 touchdowns versus just seven interceptions, but he wilted down the stretch versus the Las Vegas Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars when his team needed him most and quickly became persona non grata for owner Jim Irsay, who, let’s just say, wasn’t a fan of his quarterback, to put it kindly.

So, with “The Wentz Wagon” told to skedaddle all the way to Washington – D.C., not State – Frank Reich and company can officially move past trying to recapture his South Philly glory days in the Hoosier State, right? Well, maybe not, as CW11 wasn’t the only quarterback who won games for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. No, there is a certain Super Bowl MVP just waiting on the free agent market for some team to call his representatives; a player Reich reportedly has a very good relationship with.

The Philadelphia Eagles may face a former QB in Week 11 after all.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ entire offensive brain trust deserves a ton of credit for reconfiguring their offense on the fly to accommodate Nick Foles‘ elevation to the starting lineup in 2017. The offense went from a down-field juggernaut that averaged 247.5 passing yards per game to an RPO-heavy affair that played to Foles’ strengths as a former basketball point guard, and this, when coupled with an elite defense and run game, kept the Eagles in the Super Bowl conversation despite losing their franchise quarterback; a quarterback that many felt would have won MVP had he remained healthy.

While the Eagles, Foles, and Frank Reich all had success following that fateful season, with

Big D

Saint Nick going on to lead the team that drafted him to the Divisional Round versus the New Orleans Saints, none of the parties involved were able to again reach their former glory.

So, even with Matt Ryan now in place as the Indianapolis Colts’ presumptive QB1 and only James Morgan, 2021 sixth-round pick Sam Ehlinger, and 2022 UDFA Jack Coan filling out the roster, it’s no wonder the Colts reportedly intend to sign Foles to fill out their depth chart, as he’s a proven veteran reliever with championship experience who could keep a team’s Super Bowl dreams alive if thrust into action.

If you’ve ever wondered what would have happened if Foles stuck around in South Philly for the 2019 NFL season instead of the, um, dynamic duo of high school football coach Josh McCown and practice squad member Kyle Lauletta, this might be the next – and only – best thing.

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Nick Foles is a living legend. He’s beloved in the City of Brotherly Love like few other athletes, period, and quite literally has a statue outside of Lincoln Financial Field to celebrate his decision to ask Doug Pederson if he wants “Philly Philly.” And yet, unlike most living legends, Foles is still very much an active player who maybe isn’t a franchise quarterback in the same vein as Tom Brady, Justin Herbert, or even Matt Ryan but could theoretically continue to cash NFL paychecks for the next half-decade if he so chooses. While bringing Foles back to the Philadelphia Eagles would be a very bad idea indeed, as any starting quarterback would be a few bad games – or even passes – away from WIP callers demanding to see number 9 back on the field, watching the Super Bowl MVP reunite with Frank Reich in Indianapolis is the next best thing, unless, of course, the two teams meet in the Super Bowl.