All it takes is one injury for a team to suddenly have drama at a certain position. The Philadelphia Eagles are certainly finding that out the hard way as an injury to Nick Foles suddenly has everyone questioning his future with the franchise. Mark Sanchez looked strong enough in his first time on the field to raise questions about whether or not the change will be permanent regardless of health. Head coach Chip Kelly is making sure everyone is aware that he has the decision when it comes to roster changes, not the media.
Reports surfaced on Wednesday from NJ.com's Mark Echel that the Eagles had soured on Foles prior to his collarbone injury. The quarterback is expected to miss at least a month of the season while Sanchez takes over the starting quarterback and many wondered if the move would be made permanent. However, Kelly took the podium on Thursday and denied any idea the Eagles were looking to move on from Foles this season or next.
"No, not at all," Kelly said, via CSNPhilly.com. "I don't know where that stuff comes from. I know this: I know I control the roster. I think you guys can see first hand, I don't talk to anybody. So whoever says they have a source in terms of what's going to go on with roster maneuvers, people going up and people going down, then they never talk to the right person because that comes from me. That was never the case. I have great faith in Nick and I think he's a hell of a quarterback. I think sometimes he gets banged too much. I wish we had more people like Nick Foles in our lives."
Regardless of the future of Foles, Sanchez is preparing to audition for a starting job next season whether it is with the Eagles or someone else. The former Jets quarterback has been prepping for a comeback tour and the injury to Foles got things moving. The quarterback will take the field on Monday Night Football as he looks to put his New York experience completely behind him.
"I guess a chance to get a bird's-eye view of everything, and put that New York experience in its place, and take with me a lot of the things that went well, and improve upon the things that didn't go well," Sanchez said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer.
One person with total confidence in Sanchez is wide receiver Jeremy Maclin who is certain the offense will be just fine with the backup in place of Foles. Sanchez proved that with a little bit of talent around him, he can be a very capable quarterback and Maclin has faith that continues.
"Mark can play, man. There's no question about it. He's also surrounded by a lot more talent than what he had in New York, so the sky's the limit," Maclin said, via NFL.com. "The Mark Sanchez I knew when he got here was the quarterback that led (the Jets) to two straight AFC Championship Games. He was a quarterback who won at this level as a very high draft pick and did very well with what he was given in New York."
