It was late November in 2006, when Eagles veteran long-snapper Mike Bartrum was lost for the season with a herniated disk.
Around Thanksgiving, the Eagles brought in a 26-year-old Jon Dorenbos for a workout and signed him as the replacement. Eagles de facto general manager Howie Roseman remembers the time well.
“Jon comes in and works out, and we roll off seven in a row,” Roseman said on Friday. “And he's been here ever since.”
And now, he’s not going anywhere.
Dorenbos, along with punter Donnie Jones and special teams safety Chris Maragos were all locked up to three-year contract extensions late this week, which will prevent them from hitting free agency, and will keep them in Philly through the 2019 season.
For Dorenbos, the extension means the chance to become the Eagles’ all-time leader in game played. If he stays healthy, he should surpass his former teammate David Akers in 2018.
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What if a reporter had told him that upon his arrival in 2006?
"I probably would have laughed at you,” Dorenbos said on Friday afternoon. “I would have said, 'who's this guy, who brought this guy today?' Yeah, I mean, it's one of those things I never really thought about. I just kind of took pride in the fact that this family wanted me to be a part of it. The fact that people took a chance and a risk on me.
“And I have that pride that I'm going to show up every day and I'm going to do my job every day until somebody tells me I can't, somebody tells me you have to leave. There's been ups and downs in my career. There's been injuries, it is what it is, you play through it. It's all because Mr. Lurie said, 'you're our guy.' And I'm going to show up every day until I'm not."
Dorenbos, 36, is now the same age as Bartrum was back in 2006 when he replaced him. If Dorenbos plays through the 2019 season, he’ll tie Chuck Bednarik for all-time seasons played as an Eagle, with 14.
While Dorenbos has plenty going on outside football, with a budding career as a magician, he said returning for three more years, was a “no-brainer.”
“I still think there's some things that are unfinished that I want to be a part of,” Dorenbos said.
By locking up three key members of their special teams units, the Eagles this week showed a continuing devotion to that third of their game. Under coordinator Dave Fipp, who was brought in by Chip Kelly and retained by Doug Pederson, the Eagles have become one of the best special teams units in the entire league. Many of his players credit Fipp for pulling the best out of them. Dorenbos is one.
“I love playing for him and by far he's made me a better player,” Dorenbos said. “So Fipp, you're stuck with me for a couple more years.”
Unless he isn’t.
While Fipp is in his fourth year with the Eagles, Maragos thinks the 42-year-old special teams coordinator should garner some serious consideration as a head coaching candidate this offseason.
Either way, Pederson claims he’s committed to special teams.
“Oh, I think it's very important,” Pederson said on Friday morning. “Part of the messaging to the team from my standpoint is we have three aspects of our team – you've got offense, defense, special teams – and it's so important to the success of your team and that we've seen it already this year, the importance of that. Hopefully we can continue to build on that and good things will happen.”
While Dorenbos has been with the Eagles since 2006, his friend Jones joined the team in 2013 and Maragos came in 2014. Together the trio has helped the Eagles dominate on special teams ever since. Maragos on Friday was quick to credit three more standout special-teamers he thinks deserve credit: Trey Burton, Najee Goode and Bryan Braman.
Maragos was a walk-on at two different college programs before earning a scholarship in his fifth year. He then went undrafted and was cut three times by the 49ers before finding a home in Seattle. Now, he’s signed his second multi-year free agent contract and Dorenbos called him “one of the best special-teamers to ever play this game.”
“I really feel like that's helped mold and shape who I am as a player,” Maragos said of his past. “As hard as it is and looking back at it, I'm grateful for those times. It made me who I am and really made me the type of player who I am.”
