BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- At one point this season, Dannell Ellerbe, Kenjon Barner, Will Beatty and Bryan Braman were all free agents on the street.
Now they're in the Super Bowl.
All three - from the different times they've joined or rejoined the team - have helped them get to this point. And there's a decent chance all four will be able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night. It's been a crazy few months.
"It has [been crazy]," Braman said. "I feel like it's just all a part of the job. But this was the first time I've experienced this situation. But it's pretty special, man. It's kind of how they say the thing can go. One minute you can be jobless, the next minute you're playing in the Super Bowl.
Braman, 30, is a career special teams player. This week, he admitted it was tough for him to watch most of the 2017 season until he was signed on Dec. 12. As the season went on, he couldn't help but think about his future as the situation became more and more stressful.
Barner has a much different story. The running back was released on Sept. 2, but on the very next day, he went to Lake Havasu in Arizona to go wakeboarding and wakesurfing. He obviously wanted to be back in the NFL, but the 28-year-old was strangely at peace.
"Everybody was asking me, 'how are you at ease?'" Barner recalled. "'How are you doing what you're doing? You should be upset.' About what? Something I can't control? I'm not going to sit here and worry about anything I can't control. Me having faith, that's what made it so peaceful."
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Twenty-four days later, the Eagles placed Darren Sproles on injured reserve and Barner's phone rang. He's been their return man ever since.
Ellerbe, 32, was pretty calm as well. He played just last season, so he patiently waited for the right call to come in. According to Ellerbe, other teams were interested in him, but he waited until he found the right situation. That came with the Eagles on Nov. 13.
Since then, the former Super Bowl champion has gone from a backup to the team's starting middle linebacker in its base package.
"It's definitely a blessing," Ellerbe said. "I knew the call was going to come. ... I never once got discouraged because I didn't go through a whole season without getting picked up. I knew I was eventually going to get picked up."
Just one day after the team added Ellerbe, it brought in depth on the offensive line in Beatty. Another former Super Bowl champ, Beatty joined the team and has been trying to make the most of his second chance.
A former second-round pick, many think Beatty never lived up to his potential with the Giants. Since joining the Eagles, he's been working with the team's scout team and tries to give the team's defensive ends the best possible work he can in practice. He takes pride in knowing he's elevating their play.
While he didn't boast confidence like Ellerbe, he tried to not let his time without a team wear on him.
"You never know what the future's going to hold," he said. "You have to make sure you're mentally strong. ... When I had time to sit and wait to see where I'm going to go, I had a lot of time for reflection. Ever since I got with this team, I'm like 'how can I let this team know I'm thankful for the opportunity? Thankful for the second chance and for what they saw in me.' Whatever you saw in me, it was only a glimpse of what I can do. Show them I can do more. How can I help this team each and every week?"
The group of players watched plenty of the Eagles from afar, so when they joined the team, they thought there was a decent chance they might end up in Minnesota in February for the Super Bowl.
"That's always the hope," Beatty said. "That's always the dream, that you're playing in this game on the big stage. You're working every week to be in the playoffs. I had that opportunity to experience that but I didn't take full advantage of that moment. I want to make sure that I'm living in the moment now, I'm embracing the moment."
