So it begins for Nick Foles.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl MVP quarterback can’t satisfy everyone when he says he is content being Carson Wentz’s backup this year rather than seeking a trade so he can to start elsewhere. It isn’t enough for some that he’s willing to subjugate his ego for the good of the team.

Jason Whitlock, for one, certainly isn’t buying what Foles is saying.

The co-host of the daily sports TV show “Speak for Yourself” alongside Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports 1, Whitlock ripped Foles on Tuesday for sounding “like a guy that doesn’t want the responsibility of being a starting quarterback.”

“He doesn’t want the pressure of being a starting quarterback,” Whitlock added. “It’s fine. I’m not beating him up. He’s that guy that doesn’t want that kind of responsibility, doesn’t want that kind of pressure and spotlight, but that’s not humility, that’s fear.”

It should be noted that Whitlock gets paid to give his opinions. Still, those were some pretty harsh words for a quarterback who is 17-10 in 27 games started for the Eagles but 5-7 with two other teams.

Fortunately, Tuesday’s show also featured two men who actually played in the NFL and know a thing or two about the game, especially the business side of it.

They are Seth Joyner, who spent the first eight years of a 13-year NFL career playing linebacker for the Eagles, and Mark Schlereth, who won Super Bowl rings with the Washington Redskins in 1991 and the Denver Broncos in 1998 as a guard.

Joyner and Schlereth tried to talk some sense into Whitlock by bringing up the fact that the Eagles gave Foles a pay raise while adding an option year for 2019.

“This is smart in my opinion,” said Joyner. “Why are we killing the guy? … Why should he be in a hurry to leave a place like Philadelphia where he is revered right now.”

Schlereth said that if Foles opts for free agency after this season, he can pick a team where he believes he can operate their offensive system. He didn’t have that opportunity when he was traded following the 2014 season to the St. Louis Rams.

“There are GMs and coaches listening who are, ‘This dude, he don’t really want it, he’s not desperate to be a starting quarterback,’” said Whitlock. “There’s 32 starting quarterback jobs in the NFL, it’s the most coveted position in all of sports and this dude doesn’t want one unless he can handpick it? I’m with the GMs who are a little bit put off by it. He’s comfortable being a backup.

“This dude’s comfortable being a backup. I don’t guarantee contracts for guys that play the game that’s this hard and has this much pressure because there are all kinds of ways to lay down, and that’s what I just heard from Nick Foles. He’s laying down.”

Here’s why Foles is content to be a backup: He knows the dangers of going to a team that isn’t the right fit. He has the benefit of hindsight now after struggling with the Rams and ultimately negotiating for his release. While unemployed, he gave strong consideration to retiring before Andy Reid helped him give the game another try with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Foles had hoped to stay in Kansas City following the 2016 season, even though the Chiefs had Alex Smith and had drafted Patrick Mahomes. Now, Foles is in a position he is happy with and will possibly wait to pick another team that suits his skill set and a place where can continue to be happy.

How can there be anything wrong with that?