Usually when football coaches declare a surgery successful, it’s easy to roll your eyes because they’re talking about ligaments and bones. In this case, since it might have been a matter of life and death, it carries a little more weight.
Via ESPN.com, longtime Eagles long snapper Jon Dorenbos is recovering from heart surgery yesterday in Philadelphia to repair an aortic aneurysm which was discovered after he was traded to the Saints.
“I would like to just send a shoutout to Jon Dorenbos,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday. “Everything went well yesterday with surgery and he’s resting comfortably. Just wish him and his family well, our prayers are with him and hope for a speedy recovery.”
The heart problem was discovered by Saints physician Dr. John Amoss, and might not have been detected if he hadn’t changed teams. And though he never actually snapped in a game for the Saints, coach Sean Payton said he was impressed with the way Dorenbos has handled the life-altering news.
“He looks at it in a way in which you could argue the trade itself saved his life,” Payton said.
The 37-year-old Dorenbos had spent the last 11 years with the Eagles, and became a star with his ability as a magician which was showcased on “America’s Got Talent” in 2016.
