Home Christian News Nick Foles Injury: ‘It’s Not About Me!’ NFL Player Says

Nick Foles Injury: ‘It’s Not About Me!’ NFL Player Says


Christian football player Nick Foles has been glorifying God from the sidelines for these last couple months of the NFL season. After a long absence, Foles is planning on playing in Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback (he previously played for the Philadelphia Eagles) spoke to the press yesterday, putting his injury in perspective of the greater calling on his life. 

“We tend to make this so much about us as human beings [and athletes]. It is not about us!” Foles said during an interview. 

For Foles, playing football is secondary to his purpose of “impacting people.” He emphasized being able to connect with his teammates and build relationships with them despite the injury. “My role changed but I wanted to do that role to the best of my ability. It was really important to be around and continue developing those relationships. It was really great being around them,” he told reporters.

For Nick Foles Injury Is Just Another Trial

Foles was asked if the injury (a fractured collarbone he sustained in a week one game against Kansas City) had brought up any doubts in his mind about God. Foles said that when the injury occurred, he thought: “God, this wasn’t exactly what I was thinking when I came to Jacksonville…but at the end of the day, if this is the journey you want me to go on, I’m going to glorify you in every action—good or bad.”

“I still could have joy in an injury,” he said, explaining that playing for Jesus changes your heart and your motivations.  

He talked about hoisting the Lombardi trophy in 2018 when he led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory. “In that moment, I realized I didn’t need that trophy to define who I was because it was already in Christ.” Foles wasn’t even on the starting line up that season when the Eagles won. He was stepping in for teammate Carson Wentz, who was himself nursing an injury at that point. 

During the interview, Foles said, “I don’t believe in the prosperity gospel.” The quarterback, who has indicated in the past that he’s studying to become a pastor, said that if one reads the Bible and understands it, it’s clear “there’s trials along the way but they equip your heart to be who you are.”

Foles and his wife faced a trial earlier this year when they lost a baby to miscarriage. At the time, Foles’ wife, Tori, wrote that the couple was working through their grief. “Emotions go back and forth from immense and overwhelming sadness, confusion and anger to a firm belief that God has this fully in his hands and will use this for good,” she said. 

Foles and the Jaguars team will face the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. The quarterback has expressed his gratitude to Gardner Minshew, a rookie who led the team as quarterback during Foles’ absence. Foles said he was proud of Minshew and the rest of the team for doing a great job.