Eagles Backup QB Nick Foles ‘feels Great,' Not Worried About Missing Preseason

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Nick Foles was asked after the game whether he would need surgery on his elbow if this injury happened in the offseason.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

Can't be much clearer than that.

Foles, who missed most of training camp with an elbow injury, didn't play Thursday night against the Jets at MetLife Stadium and wound up not getting into a game the entire preseason.

But after the game, he said his elbow is 100 percent and he sat out only as a precaution. For the first time, he revealed that the injury is a strained flexor tendon.

"I know everyone's freaking out because nobody's really gotten a lot of answers, but it feels great," Foles said after the Eagles' 16-10 loss (see breakdown). "When you're a throwing athlete, it's just something you have to deal with sometimes."

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Foles, who spent the 2012 through 2014 seasons with the Eagles before single seasons with the Rams and Chiefs, returned to the Eagles this offseason to back up Carson Wentz.

He did finally put on an Eagles game jersey Thursday night for the first time in three years, and he threw a little bit before the game. But that's the closest we got to actual game reps (see 10 observations).

"Obviously, it's good to get reps and all that, but sometimes injuries do happen, and this was one of the occurrences that was unfortunate," he said. "But I feel great now. The training staff did a great job with it. We just felt it was best at this time to treat it and continue to get healthy because the season is right around the corner, and you want to be healthy for the season.

"I'm fine. I feel great. I was able to throw in pregame warm-ups and get the feel of it again. Obviously, I've played in some games, and I can really just lean on that."

Head coach Doug Pederson has said all along that he wasn't concerned about Foles, and he repeated that after the game (more from Pederson here).

"He's right where he needs to be going into the season," Pederson said. "Just decided to rest him."

Why isn't he concerned when his No. 2 quarterback hasn't taken a snap all preseason and is dealing with an injury that dates back to last year?

"Because I'm not concerned based on what I'm getting from the medical staff and based on Nick's feeling and based on the way he worked out today and really threw this week in practice a little bit," he said. "Kind of building himself up. There's no concern."

Pederson was asked what he liked about Foles' pregame workout and said, "I thought the velocity, the ball was coming out of his hand nice, nice spirals, accuracy. Even the way he was moving in his drops. Really was eye-catching to watch. He had no issues, so very comfortable with that."

Foles, a Pro Bowler during his historic 2013 season, has a 20-16 career record, including a 15-9 mark with the Eagles.

"I feel really comfortable," Foles said. "You go to a new team and something like this happens, it's a little bit more difficult.

"I know this offense. Obviously I played for Doug (in 2012) and Coach (Andy) Reid, and that helps a lot."

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