Brett Favre is one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time — the winner of a Super Bowl and the holder of several major passing records. During much of Favre’s career with the Green Bay Packers, his backup was Doug Pederson. Pederson is now the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, who won the Super Bowl last season.
Now, per NBC Sports Philadelphia , Favre has expressed his opinion about which of Pederson’s star quarterbacks should run the team going forward: Nick Foles.
“No disrespect at all to Carson Wentz. I think he’s already proven that he’s a great quarterback,” Favre said on his SiriusXM radio show this week, as cited by NBC.
“Totally different than Nick Foles. Nick Foles, to me, is more of a (Tom) Brady-esque type quarterback. Very limited in what he can do but very, very good in what he does. He’s a pure pocket passer and he’s great at dishing it out and he’s proven that he’s clutch. He did it this past week, he did it last year, he’s done it time and time again, and he’s proven that he can win the big games. That, I think, is what we have to look at, or the Eagles, or anyone in a similar situation — it’s about winning, it’s about being clutch, doing really what you expect your players to do. And he does it as well as anyone.”
The Philadelphia Eagles, prior to the 2016 season, traded several draft picks to move up in the draft. They would select Carson Wentz second overall, with the idea of Wentz becoming their new franchise quarterback. Wentz played well in 2016 — and even better in 2017 — until suffering a season-ending knee injury in December. Then, backup quarterback Foles stepped in. He led the Eagles on a playoff run, one which culminated in their first-ever Super Bowl championship.
Doug Pederson’s good friend Brett Favre says the #Eagles should pick Nick Foles over Carson Wentz: https://t.co/lCBJvnfEcm
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) January 16, 2019
In the 2018 season, Foles started the first two games before Wentz returned. And while the team struggled for much of the season, a Wentz injury led to Foles stepping in once again — and leading the Eagles to the playoffs once again. The team beat the Chicago Bears on the road in the first round before losing to New Orleans on Sunday.
The Eagles have been clear, during the season and after, that Carson Wentz is their quarterback going forward. The team has a complex series of mutual options with Foles for next season, but the quarterback is expected to either be traded to another team, or to become a free agent and sign elsewhere.
Favre — who retired for the last of several times after the 2010 season — played for the Packers, the New York Jets, and the Minnesota Vikings.