PHILADELPHIA -- Nick Foles was afraid to play football again. The pain of being traded by the Philadelphia Eagles and failing with the St. Louis Rams was too much heartbreak for Foles to bare.
Benched in St. Louis after nine games, the Rams wanted to part ways with Foles as quickly as they wanted to leave St. Louis. The franchise wanted to leave Foles in the past, making it easy for them to move on when Foles requested his release from the team in the summer of 2016.
Football wasn't fun for Foles anymore. It was work.
"My heart was going through a lot," Foles said at his retirement press conference at Lincoln Financial Field. "I remember realizing I was in a paralyzed state where I wasn't leaving the game, but I wasn't going toward the game."
A week later, Foles received a phone call from Andy Reid that changed his life. Foles was offered by Andy Reid an opportunity to resurrect his career as a backup quarterback for Alex Smith with the Kansas City Chiefs. Reid was part of the braintrust that drafted Foles in Philadelphia, the first NFL coach to give him his shot.
Foles still was hesitant about coming back. That's where Tori Foles come in.
Tori wrote her husband a four-page letter to help guide him back to the game he loved. Tori is the rock of the Foles household, and Foles was touched by the letter so much it remains in one of the bibles in his house.
"There was a reason I keep it," Foles said. "It was the most amazing letter ever written."
Foles, a devout Christian, decided then to have a conversation with God. He asked God 'What do I do?' as he comtemplated giving football one more chance.
"I remember hearing a small thing in my stomach saying, 'What are you most afraid of?'" Foles said. "I was most afraid to go back and play because of what I experienced in St. Louis. I was afraid.
"But I knew from my faith and reading the word and going through life that God will be with me if I walk away from the game or if I go back. But the thing I'm most afraid of I probably should go back at."
That was enough for Foles to give Reid a call. He vowed to give football his all once again, seeking to fall in love with the game once more.
"I called Andy and told him 'If you'll still have me, I think there's still something inside me,'" Foles said. "'There's still something and I think if anywhere I can get it -- it would be with you.'"
Only four practices in and Foles rekindled the passion he had for the game he loved. Foles knew then everything would be okay.
"I broke down in tears in the film room," Foles said. "I was excited to go to practice again."
Eighteen months later, Foles led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl championship. Foles completed one of the most magical postseason runs in NFL history, becoming the only quarterback to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the postseason -- en route to the Eagles winning Super Bowl LII. Foles still has the highest completion percentage in NFL playoff history (68.1%), slightly ahead of Patrick Mahomes (67.9%).
The Foles legend doesn't happen without the influence of his wife, Tori, as that four-page letter set him on the right path.
