As Foles retires, former Eagles teammates share memories of the Philly legend originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Brandon Graham didn’t have to think long about his favorite Nick Foles memory.
It came in 2017, when Foles returned to the Eagles after a few years away and after a rocky second chapter of his NFL career. Foles told Graham about how he contemplated retirement prior to the 2016 season before ultimately deciding to sign with Andy Reid in Kanas City, a move that rejuvenated his career.
The next offseason, the Eagles were looking for a backup quarterback and gave Foles a call.
You know how the rest of the story goes.
“If he would have retired,” Graham said, “then who knows what would have happened. We’re probably not even talking about Super Bowl.”
There’s some other timeline in an alternate reality where Foles retires before 2016. He never comes back to Philly. He never becomes the folk hero who stepped in for Carson Wentz to deliver a Lombardi Trophy. Graham never becomes a hero himself for his strip sack on Tom Brady. Heck, there’s no Philly Special!
In that other world, the Eagles are still yearning for that elusive first Super Bowl championship.
“I’m happy that he didn’t (retire),” Graham said.
So is the rest of Philadelphia. Finally on Monday night, years after he first contemplated it, Foles will officially retire from the NFL. He’ll do it as a member of the Eagles and will be honored in front of a sellout crowd at the Linc.
As everyone gets ready to honor Foles on Monday night, we caught up with the dwindling list of current Eagles who were his teammates in Philadelphia. There are just eight players and one position coach left: Brandon Graham, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Dallas Goedert, Jake Elliott, Rick Lovato, Avonte Maddox, Josh Sweat and OL coach Jeff Stoutland.
DE Brandon Graham
Graham is the longest-tenured Eagles player and the only guy on the current team who was in Philly when Foles was drafted in the third…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/foles-retires-former-eagles-teammates-110000979.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-09-16 11:00:00
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