FOXBORO, Mass. — It finally happened. Nick Foles and Tom Brady finally shook hands.
Over six months after the Eagles beat the Patriots, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII, Brady finally spoke with Foles, who won Super Bowl MVP.
“I think everyone’s made a big deal about it. There’s a lot of craziness [at the end of the Super Bowl],” Foles said following the Eagles' 37-20 preseason loss to the Patriots (see breakdown). “I’ve always respected Tom. I’ve met Tom several times. It was great to see him. But, like I said, I think everyone made a bigger deal of it. At the end of the day, he’s a great dude, heckuva player, one of the greatest of all time. Just to say hi. That’s what quarterbacks do at the end of the game. I know everyone made a big deal about the Super Bowl, but the Super Bowl is chaos after. He was nice as he always is. I wish him the best of luck this season.”
“I did hear that,” Brady said of chatter about his snubbing a handshake with Foles. “That was kind of made up to me because that was never my intention. I wouldn’t be a bad sport.”
After the game in early February, as the confetti rained at U.S. Bank Stadium, Brady ducked into the Patriots’ locker room after the defeat, never congratulating the opposing quarterback. The two hadn’t spoken since … until Thursday night.
Foles and Brady shook hands and chatted for a minute.
The handshake would have probably happened before the game, but by the time Brady uncharacteristically came out during warmups, Foles was already back in the locker room. Brady did run up to Carson Wentz, give him a hug and chat for a bit.
“It’ll happen when it happens,” Foles said after practice Tuesday. “We practiced with the Patriots (in 2014) and I got to stand there and talk to Tom quite a bit, he’s a great guy. I have all the respect in the world for him.
“I think everyone’s making a big deal about this and it’s not a big deal at all. I’ve already talked to him before, he’s a guy I’ve always looked up to. You’ve got to admire someone who’s probably the greatest ever and still going strong even at his age.
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“He seems to get better and better. I already had a conversation with him before when we practiced. If we have one in the future, we have one and it’ll be cool.”
It finally happened.