Nick Foles' release from the Colts on Friday came as no surprise after Indianapolis selected Anthony Richardson at No. 4 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
He was the odd man out in a transformed quarterback room with Gardner Minshew and Sam Ehlinger, and the coach responsible for his desire to join the club in the first place now resides in Carolina.
"I was just released yesterday by the Colts, which is actually a good thing, so don't cry for me," Foles said Saturday at Mariners Church, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's OK. The coach that I was there for, Frank Reich, was fired. Their GM (Chris Ballard) and I had a good relationship. It's all good. Everything's fine."
Foles sounds content with the team's decision, but the parting of ways leaves one of the league's unlikeliest Super Bowl MVPs in recent memory with a decision to make about his future.
His Indianapolis reunion with Reich in 2022 brought the two together five years after they won Super Bowl LII as quarterback and offensive coordinator with the Eagles. But running it back in a third locale appears farfetched.
Reich and the Panthers just spent the No. 1 overall pick on a potential franchise QB of their own, Bryce Young. And Carolina tabbed Andy Dalton as its veteran leader of the group with a two-year deal in March while Foles still remained on Indy's roster.
Now 34 years old, Foles could potentially fulfill a mentor role for another squad. He could also be forced to play the waiting game until an injury opens up a roster spot during training camp -- if he even wants to give Year 12 in the NFL a go at all.
"Shoot, almost every year of my career I've almost retired," Foles said. "Every offseason, I think, 'Do I still want to play? Do I still want to keep going?'"
Should Foles ultimately decide to keep going, he'll do so on his seventh NFL team and fifth in six years (barring a return to an old haunt).
If this turns out to be the end of the road, he'll conclude his journeyman run with 14,227 passing yards, 82 touchdowns, 47 interceptions and a statue outside Lincoln Financial Field that forever immortalizes his magical postseason run to the Eagles' first Super Bowl win.
