Indianapolis Colts sign Nick Foles as backup quarterback

INDIANAPOLIS — A move that has always made too much sense to not happen is finally official.

The Colts are signing veteran quarterback Nick Foles to a two-year deal, a league source told the Indianapolis Star, to back up starting quarterback Matt Ryan. It's a move that fills one of the roster holes that hurt Indianapolis during the 2021 season.

For most of their four years together in Indianapolis, head coach Frank Reich and general manager Chris Ballard have preached the importance of having a capable backup quarterback on the roster, although the team’s decision to open 2021 with unproven second-year passer Jacob Eason in the No. 2 role did not match those words.

Foles, 33, is a fix familiar to both Reich and Ballard.

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One of the few quarterbacks in history whose résumé matches Reich’s reputation as a backup. For a variety of reasons, Foles hasn’t been able to make good on his multiple opportunities as a starter in the NFL, but he left an indelible mark on the city of Philadelphia.

Forced into the lineup by injuries to former Eagles starter Carson Wentz — the Colts’ starting quarterback in 2021 — in critical moments in both 2017 and 2018, Foles rose to the occasion twice in a row, first leading Philadelphia to its only Super Bowl title in a win over the Patriots, then winning a playoff game and taking the Eagles to the brink of winning another in 2018 performance.

Reich played a critical role in those unforgettable Foles performances.

The two men have only spent one year together in the NFL, but they formed an instant, deep connection because of their shared Christian faith and a remarkable connection on the football field.

Foles has repeatedly said over the years that no coach has ever been able to unlock his abilities the way Reich did during that magical 2017 run when he was an offensive coordinator.

“He’s one of the greatest teachers of football,” Foles said two weeks ago at Reich’s Call to Courage Awards breakfast in Buffalo. “I learned more with him and that staff in that season in 2017 than I ever have.”

And the two men have stayed in close contact over the years.

When Foles was in Jacksonville, the two men had long conversations before and after Colts-Jaguars games, and Reich remains a close friend to Foles. When Reich presented the 19th Call to Courage Award to Foles in Buffalo in recognition of the way Foles lives out his Christian faith, the Colts head coach admitted that the award was special because of his relationship with the quarterback.

“Our time together in Philadelphia was a joy, and (the relationship) still is a joy,” Foles said. “I don’t think I’ve stayed in touch with a coach more than Frank.”

Ballard’s relationship with Foles actually goes back a year further, to the 2016 season, when the quarterback won a game in place of an injured Alex Smith in Kansas City.

Foles struggled as a starter in Jacksonville and Chicago in 2019 and 2020, but when he made a spot start for the Bears in an otherwise lost year in 2021, Foles threw for 250 yards and beat Seattle on the road. The veteran quarterback has forged a reputation as a good leader and a player who handles the backup role well, supporting the starter as much as possible.

The man he’ll be backing up in Indianapolis is not known for giving up too many snaps.

Ryan missed just three starts in 14 seasons in Atlanta, and he remains remarkably healthy as he turns 37. On the other hand, the Colts are well aware how a single game in the wrong quarterback’s hands can turn a season — the egg Brian Hoyer laid in 2019 against a woeful Miami team is a good example — and Indianapolis believes Foles can give the Colts a chance to win in the possibility of a Ryan injury.

Until the Colts signed Foles, the backup was second-year quarterback Sam Ehlinger, a sixth-round pick in 2021 who possesses a remarkable knowledge of the offense but hasn’t thrown a pass in the NFL yet.

“We like Ehlinger, he’s made of all the right stuff,” Ballard said in January. “Whether he’s good enough, we’ve still got to find out.”

The Colts believe Foles is still plenty good enough.

At least to lead a talented roster in a pinch.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Nick Foles, Colts: QB signs with Indianapolis to back up Matt Ryan