Former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles ponders retirement, says casual fans don’t even recognize him

Five calendar years after hoisting the Eagles‘ first Lombardi Trophy, former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles may be done with the NFL for good. Recently released by the Colts, his third team since leaving Philadelphia, the 34-year-old quarterback admitted during an appearance at California’s Mariners Church that he’s pondering retirement after 11 years in the league.

“Shoot, almost every year of my career I’ve almost retired,” Foles said, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Every offseason, I think, ‘Do I still want to play? Do I still want to keep going?’ Specifically this last year with everything, God’s really been testing my identity in the game because I was able to get rid of it many years ago, and it was just all about Christ. But (after the) Super Bowl and different experiences, it starts creeping back in. That’s sort of what you’re recognized for. … (but) I’m just a man. I’m just a human.”

More than that, Foles added, he’s also a husband and father. It’s why he’s all but celebrating his exit from the Colts after just one season as Indianapolis’ backup, calling it a “good thing” for his family. Ex-Colts coach Frank Reich, his former offensive coordinator in Philly, was the main reason Foles wanted to play for Indy, he said, and now that the QB is a free agent once more, he can be more engaged at home.

“Finding that way of being present with (family), realizing that wow, when they’re older this is going to matter,” Foles explained. “It’s not going to matter that I played in the NFL or won a Super Bowl.”

And apparently it doesn’t matter much to those he encounters in his daily life away from football. Even though he played a vital role in a historic title run for the Eagles, Foles added that he barely gets recognized by fans in public, making a potential retirement all the more seamless. He was even playing pickleball recently when a teammate suggested he could’ve gone pro as a tight end because of his size; after Foles informed the man he’d actually been an NFL player for more than a decade, and in fact had been on the Super Bowl-winning Eagles, the guy didn’t even remember Foles had come off the bench.

It’s a safe bet that encounter didn’t occur in Philly.

Regardless, this isn’t the first time Foles has pondered stepping away from the game, as he mentioned. He told YouVersion in 2017 that he nearly retired after a tumultuous tenure with the Rams, then hinted at a career in ministry following his second Eagles stint.