Danny Trevathan knows a thing or two about leadership. He saw it as a rookie in 2012 when Peyton Manning arrived to join the Denver Broncos and then helped the franchise to its third Super Bowl title three years later. The inside linebacker took a lot of lessons from playing on that team and brought them to the Chicago Bears. Since then he’s become one of the main voices in the locker room.
So if anybody is going to recognize who does or doesn’t deserve to be a leader with this team, it’s him. Apparently it hasn’t taken long for Nick Foles to make an impression. The 31-year old quarterback joined the Bears back in March via trade. Since then he has yet to have any sort of contact with other players due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That doesn’t seem to matter. Trevathan revealed during his recent video conference with Bears media that the quarterback spoke up during the recent team meeting meant to discuss the George Floyd killing and issues of race and police brutality. Foles must’ve made quite the impression.
“I’ve yet to meet Nick Foles but just to see his aspect of speaking up made me feel like, ‘ This is a guy I’d go to war for. This is a guy I would fight for.’ We had plenty of people speak up. Mitch (Trubisky), Cody (Whitehair), Pat O’Donnell and it’s not even because of that. They have a different voice than the voice I have. It’s reaching different areas. We have a team that fights together. That really not just talks about that stuff. Not just talk about it but really does something about it. They care, and it makes you want to fight for those guys a lot harder.”
Danny Trevathan giving his seal of approval is a good thing
Foles was one of the first quarterbacks in the NFL to speak up about the unrest around the country. He’s known for being a Christian man who serious about his faith. One of the great joys of his football career has been embracing teammates of all different races and backgrounds. Seeing things happen as they have is tough for him to watch.
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Teammates who played with Foles elsewhere have all said he’s a one-of-a-kind leader. Somebody who just gets it. A perfect example was him consoling Alshon Jeffery moments after the receiver dropped a crucial pass in a playoff loss to the Saints. It was a sign that he genuinely cares for his guys. Trevathan seemed to feel that during the Zoom call.