Nick Foles Approves Makai Lemon to Wear His No. 9 Jersey for Eagles

Eight years ago Nick Foles became a legend in Philadelphia when he delivered the first Super Bowl in Eagles franchise history. Since his departure, no other Eagles player has worn his No. 9 jersey. But starting in 2026, the Eagles will have someone new to give it to, and he's okay with it.

According to Zach Berman of The Athletic, newly-minted Eagles wide receiver Makai Lemon will wear the No. 9 jersey to start his career. Per the report, Lemon and Foles actually spoke about it and Foles gave Lemon his blessing.

"Makai Lemon will wear No. 9. Nick Foles gave him the blessing. The two spoke. Lemon is the fist one to wear it since Nick Foles," Berman wrote on X.

Did it need his "blessing?"

NFL fans quickly noted how silly the idea that Foles would need to give his blessing to Lemon for him to wear the number. It's not like the number was officially retired by the organization, so fans found the entire thing ridiculous.

"There's no way Foles has this much power," one user on X joked.

"Only in Philadelphia will you hear the phrase unironically, 'Nick Foles gave him the blessing,'" wrote another.

"Hold up… you need Nick Foles's blessing to wear his number? My Eagles hatred aside… That's a really sad franchise," a third wrote.

There is some debate over to what extent Foles should be respected in Philly. On one hand, he only started 32 regular season games for the organization over five years and went just 21-11 as a starter. On the other hand, he won the single most important game in franchise history, leading the Eagles to an upset win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots - avenging their prior Super Bowl defeat to Brady a decade prior to boot.

The Eagles chose to honor Foles by building a statue of his signature "Philly Special" touchdown to help secure the win. While the team didn't officially retire his number, they gave him something that's arguably better.

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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 2:16 PM.