Nick Foles will go down in history as one of Philadelphia’s greatest sports heroes after going from backup quarterback to leading the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl win.
However, Foles’ fairytale story in Philly was almost never written as he very nearly went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It was close,” said Foles, per Tim McManus of ESPN. “We were in discussions.”
Foles, who was a free agent in 2017, had narrowed down his preferred destinations to Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. He had a prior relationship with Bucs coach Dirk Koetter, who secured his commitment in college.
However, Foles ultimately chose to go to back to Philadelphia, where he spent the first three years of his career, to raise his family and back up Carson Wentz.
“We thought really long and hard, but ultimately we decided that Philly was our home once before and we loved it, we loved the people here, we loved the city,” Foles said. “And what better place to be when we bring our daughter into the world? So that was the big decision.”
Foles obviously didn’t end up regretting his decision to pick Philly over Tampa Bay. After Wentz went down late in the season, he went on one of the most amazing runs in NFL history to deliver the city of Philadelphia a long-awaited championship.
With Wentz still not yet cleared for contact, Foles will now get the start against the Bucs in Week 2 in a battle of the backups with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Foles struggled in the season opener against the Falcons, and he’ll need to play much better to outduel Fitzpatrick, whose amazing performance against the Saints earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
