As he fights to make the final roster, Philadelphia Eagles rookie Clayton Thorson looks to Nick Foles’ words for motivation.
Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles is no longer with the organization. Even though he’s down in Jacksonville, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gone forever in Philly. For starters, the guy has a statue outside of Lincoln Financial Field, which is sure not to go anywhere as long as the stadium exists. Then, Foles is also pictured on the walls within The Linc and the Nova Care Complex, after his miraculous Super Bowl LII win in 2017.
Physically, Foles is no longer in Philadelphia. Spiritually, he’s there. We’ve heard back in the spring about how Foles offered advice to one of the newcomers, Cody Kessler as he entered the city that No. 9 was quite familiar with. Now, Philadelphia Eagles rookie fifth-round pick Clayton Thorson is looking for advice from Foles in a quote from an article he read recently.
Carson Wentz might be the leader of the Eagles right now, but any overlooked player who is struggling to overcome doubt should always seek advice from Foles for motivational purposes. After all, nobody expected Foles to do what he did back in 2017 and even in 2018 — but he did. And ever since then, the former Eagles quarterback has wanted to share his wisdom.
As of late, Clayton Thorson has struggled to overcome adversity early on during his first NFL training camp. On Thursday, Thorson may make his NFL debut in week one of the preseason, but after what he’s put on display at training camp so far, it’s evident he’s far from ready. So in order to try and prepare himself mentally, he sought the unofficial advice from Foles.
What did Thorson learn from the Eagles legend?
"“Foles was talking about how he stays in the moment in the fourth quarter. He’s like, ‘My dad taught me it’s just all about what’s happening right there.’ Even though he’s not here, it’s about learning from those experiences.”"
Maybe the mental aspect of the game has gotten to Thorson early on. After all, going from Northwestern to the Philadelphia Eagles is quite the jump in change. Knowing how calm and poised Foles has been in the last two seasons running the Eagles offense, Thorson looked to the right player to try and find out what he does to shut everything off mentally.
As of right now, Thorson is probably on the outside looking in at the Eagles’ final 53-man roster — but he’s got plenty of time to change that narrative. With four preseason games to go, Thorson could see himself getting a fair share of snaps along with Cody Kessler to try and make a case for the third-string position. Hopefully, Foles’ wisdom helps Thoroson overcome his issues.