February 05, 2018
Jon Dorenbos may not have suited up for Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis on Sunday night, but he was there at the invitation of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.
The longtime Eagles long snapper has survived one of the most trying years of his truly awe-inspiring life, emerging safe from a health scare that nearly went undetected and might have cost him his life.
Dorenbos was traded to the New Orleans Saints prior to the start of the 2017-18 season, ending his 11-season run in Philadelphia. During a routine team physical, a doctor for the Saints discovered what turned out to be a severe aortic aneurysm. The magician and "America's Got Talent" sensation was suddenly starting at the end of his career in a blink.
Had Dorenbos played another snap in the NFL, he was at risk of sudden death at any moment.
After receiving open-heart surgery in Philadelphia, Dorenbos spent the year recovering. The Eagles never forgot his contributions to the team and to the city of Philadelphia.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 8, 2017
On Sunday, Dorenbos told The New Orleans Advocate that Lurie had invited him out to the Super Bowl.
"Mr. Lurie called me and said he wants me to be a part of it, said I was here a long time, and he said 'We're going to win this, and you're going to get a ring,'" Dorenbos said.
Mission accomplished.
