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Nick Foles waited all season to start making plays with the Indianapolis Colts’ starters. and now it looks like the 33-year-old quarterback will get a second chance to do it again on Sunday.
On Wednesday, interim coach Jeff Saturday announced that Foles will replace Matt Ryan as Indy’s starter against the Los Angeles Chargers, giving Foles his first start since December 26, 2021 and his second since October 2020.
“No, none,” Foles said when asked if he’d even taken first-team plays in practice. “You never know what’s going to happen every week, it’s been that kind of year. Unfortunately, in the NFL there are years like that. For me, it’s always just doing what I need to do in my role.’
Indianapolis Colts third-string quarterback Nick Foles will start against the LA Chargers on Sunday.
Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday will remove Matt Ryan from the line of fire following a 33-point second-half collapse against the Minnesota Vikings last weekend.
It’s been a painful season for the Colts (4-9-1) and Foles, who initially signed as a free agent to meet with coach Frank Reich only to see his old friend fired in early November.
He’s also seen Indy turn plays, fire the offensive coordinator and was even overlooked when Reich initially benched Ryan in October. Reich turned the team over to sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who attended the same Texas high school as Foles. Indy lost both of Ehlinger’s starts.
Foles began this season ranked No. 2 on the depth chart, slipped to No. 3 and has now been promoted to the starter just four days after the Colts blew a 33-0 halftime lead and allowed Minnesota to will rally for a 39-36 victory in overtime. – the biggest comeback in NFL history.
“This is never an easy decision and I love Matt, he’s a pro and I love the way he handled it,” Saturday said. “I feel bad for Matt, but ultimately Nick gives us the best chance to win and that’s the direction we’re headed in.”
He declined to say Saturday whether Ryan or Ehlinger would serve as the No. 2 against the Chargers on Monday night.
Ryan has been sacked 38 times this season and has a league-high 18 giveaways, even though he missed two games this year.
Ryan’s rollercoaster season, and perhaps his career, could be over.
The 37-year-old supported the Colts in all four of their wins this season, but has been sacked 38 times, fifth in the league, and has a league-high 18 walkouts despite missing two games. Ryan also suffered a separated shoulder in October.
He is scheduled to count $35.2 million against Indy’s salary cap next season, but the Colts can free up $17.2 million if they release the 2016 league MVP and four-time Pro Bowler who ranks fifth in the league. NFL history in pass completions (5,551) and pass attempts (8,464), seventh in passing yards (62,792), and ninth in touchdown passes (381).
But after last week’s historic meltdown, a four-turnover fourth quarter that led to 33 points in Indy’s previous game in Dallas and four straight losses, Saturday pulled the plug on Ryan’s starting role and is giving Foles a crash course to show what you can do. with a lineup he knows little about.
Sam Ehlinger, a sixth-round pick in the 2021 draft, lost both games he started this season
“I know him and I got to know him personally, unfortunately not on the field,” said center Ryan Kelly, who will sign his third quarterback this season and eighth since 2017.
‘Just doing the tour stuff. Just keep it simple and get out there and play fast. Nick obviously kept himself sharp, training literally every day, keeping his body in shape.
But it’s unclear if the same guy who replaced the injured Carson Wentz as the Eagles’ starter in Week 15 of the 2017 season and led Philadelphia to the Super Bowl title can replicate that kind of success at Indy. Foles was the Super Bowl MVP that year after throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns while catching another memorable score in the game.
Nick Foles holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LII with the Eagles
Saturday believes Foles can help stretch the field with more shots from the field and better efficiency and safety. Rodney McLeod believes Foles is pretty much the same player he saw in the Eagles’ locker room in 2017.
“It’s his confidence, leadership ability, guys have a way of following Nick and I think he’s a really good quarterback when it comes to deep balls as well,” McLeod said. “He’s seen a lot of ball and he’s a man of faith and I think you see that kind of calm that he can bring to a group.”
The Colts hope that applies even to a quarterback still getting his feet wet with Indy.
“Sometimes you’re with a team for a couple of years and then you’re in and out and then you play like that, it’s the first time I’ve really been with the guys,” Foles said. “For me, it’s just having the mindset of trying to run this offense, run this offense because it really was training camp and now since then it’s really been scouting team cards, but I’ve seen Sam and Matt do a lot of repetitions.’