Foles: DeSean Was a Great Teammate To Me

There has been a theory floating around that DeSean Jackson wasn’t all that integral to Nick Foles’ success last year.

Foles had better chemistry with Riley Cooper, some have argued. The only problem? The theory’s not really rooted in fact.

Foles had great numbers to pretty much every receiver on the Eagles last year. But on throws to Jackson, he was 50-for-71 (70.4 percent) for 808 yards and seven touchdowns. On throws to Cooper, he was 34-for-57 (59.6 percent) for 673 yards and seven scores.

The Eagles’ third-year signal-caller now gets Jeremy Maclin back, and the team has added Darren Sproles to the mix. But he’ll be without the team’s leading receiver in Jackson.

“It’s surprising, but at the same time you also learn that this is a business,” Foles told Derrick Gunn of Comcast SportsNet on Saturday. “It’s a tough business at times. We develop a lot of friendships on the team. And I’ve had many of my close teammates let go. It’s very tough but at the same time you know it’s part of the game, part of the business. You wish them well. He landed on his feet. I know he’s gonna do well. He’s a great player. He’s been tremendous for me. But at the same time we have to keep moving forward as an organization. I do wish DeSean well. I had a blast playing with him.”

Foles was asked about Jackson being a distraction and a bad teammate.

“He was a great teammate to me,” Foles said. “We had a great relationship on and off the field. Everybody has other things going on, but to me personally, I really enjoyed playing with him. I’m excited that he landed on his feet. He’s a heck of a player.”

Foles added that he’s excited for the current group of players and coaches.

Video of the interview is embedded below.