Donnie Jones is the latest key special teamer the Eagles aren't letting go.
Just a day after extending Chris Maragos and on the same day they extended long-snapper Jon Dorenbos, the Eagles have signed punter Donnie Jones to a three-year contract extension that will keep him in Philly through 2019.
"He embodies the type of character and class that we seek in building this team and we are excited to bring him back," Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said in a statement released by the team.
Jones, 36, joined the Eagles as a free agent before the 2013 season and has quickly become the best punter in Eagles history.
He leads the Eagles in career gross average (45.3 yards), career net average (40.3), career punts inside the 20 (110) and net average in a season (41.6 in 2015). The only record he doesn't own is gross average in a season. His 47.0 last year fell just shy of Joe Muha's 47.3 in 1948.
By locking up Dorenbos and Jones on the same day, the Eagles have ensured their future at a key spot in their special teams unit. Dorenbos and Jones became teammates in 2013, but have been friends since 2005, when they met at the 2005 CMT Music Awards in Nashville.
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Jones' career began in Seattle after the Seahawks drafted him in the seventh round, but his rookie season was forgettable and he spent just one year there. From Seattle, he had two seasons in Miami, five in St. Louis and one in Houston. He has previously said Philadelphia is his favorite stop.
This season, Jones has an average of 45.2 yards per punt, with a net average of 39.7. He's dropped 12 punts inside the 20.
During training camp, when Jones was asked about how long he wanted to play, he pointed at many other punters who played into their 40s and said he wanted to play as long as he could.
Now, he'll get the chance to have at least three more years with the Eagles.
