PHILADELPHIA -- Todd Herremans did not hesitate, not for a moment.
In an interview on 97.5 The Fanatic, the ESPN Radio affiliate in Philadelphia, Herremans was asked Monday if his former employers, the Philadelphia Eagles, should make a deal and draft Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.
"You know what?" Herremans replied. "I would try to make a splash and go for it. If you feel like that's the one piece that's missing for you to win a Super Bowl, then go for it."
That's interesting on several levels. Herremans spent most of the past two seasons blocking for Nick Foles. He certainly didn't come out and say anything negative about Foles, his former teammate. He softened his comments with a qualifier: The Eagles should trade up for Mariota "if" they feel like a quarterback is "the one piece that's missing."
Earlier, Herremans had very positive things to say about Foles.
"I think that Nick Foles is a very unique player," Herremans said. "The one thing that you probably don't know about him is that -- and he might not display it all the time -- he's actually a really good athlete. I think he can pull the ball and run it.
"We've seen him do it for six to 10 yards sometimes, but everybody's just like, 'Oh, my God, we need a guy that can pull and run the ball,' but you only need that two or three times a game. And you don't need him to run for 60 yards. Obviously, it's nice when they do. But I think Nick is fully capable of running the offense here in Philadelphia."
Ultimately, it will all be up to coach Chip Kelly. If he feels that Foles can run his offense at a high enough level, then Foles will likely be the Eagles' quarterback next season. If Kelly feels that he needs someone like Mariota to make the offense go at full speed, then it will be up to Kelly to find a way to get it done.
As for Herremans, he said he was "surprised" he was released last week after 10 seasons with the Eagles.
"The more years you play here, you try to keep telling yourself that it's coming eventually," Herremans said. "I just kind of thought, after playing for so long, that I would have had a better feel for when it was going to come. I can't complain. It's part of the game."