How Nick Foles Gave Eagles Rookie Makai Lemon Permission To Wear His Number

The No. 9 wasn't officially retired by the Philadelphia Eagles, yet no player has worn the number since Nick Foles.

Foles was the player who led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title, beating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots dynasty in Super Bowl LII -- winning game MVP honors. A franchise legend in Philadelphia, the Eagles basically allowed Foles to have the No. 9 for as long as he wanted.

No player was ever going to wear No. 9 again, until Foles decided it was time for Makai Lemon to have it.

The Eagles rookie wideout will wear No. 9, the first player to don the number since Foles seven years ago. Foles thought it was the right time to pass the number on.

"I talked to him on the phone," Lemon said during a media availability this week. "He wanted to pass that number over, wanted to speak to me on the phone before anybody else told me so. I appreciate him, and hopefully I can meet him soon. He's around the building."

Lemon likes low numbers and quite a few of them are taken on the Eagles. The lowest number available was in the double digits, as No. 5 is retired (Donovan McNabb) while No. 9 (Foles) wasn't officially retired.

While No. 5 wasn't available, all of a sudden No. 9 was. That was the lowest number Lemon could get and Foles reserved it for him. The time was right to pass the baton.

"I appreciate the Eagles, Foles especially, for passing that number down," Lemon said. "He could have easily kept that number himself. I cherish that so much and I'll represent the 9 well."

Lemon wasn't the first Eagles player to try and get No. 9. Josh Sweat switched form No. 94 in 2024 to No. 19, but admitted he tried to get his number at Florida State -- No. 9.

"I wore 9 in high school and wore 9 in college," Sweat said after Eagles training camp practice two years ago. "But I can't get 9 now because it's retired."

The Eagles had No. 9 on hold after what Foles did for the franchise in leading them to their first Super Bowl title in the 2017 season. Foles completed 72.6% of his passes for 971 yards, six touchdowns, one interception, and a 115.7 passer rating in the postseason to lead Philadelphia to the Super Bowl title.

In Super Bowl LII, Foles took home MVP honors after going 28 of 43 for 373 yards, three touchdowns, and a 106.1 passer rating (also catching a touchdown pass from the "Philly Special"). He's the only quarterback to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the postseason.

Foles still has the highest completion percentage in NFL playoff history (68.1%), slightly ahead of Patrick Mahomes (67.9%).

Lemon has some high expectations wearing No. 9, but he expects to live up to them.

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