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Eagles sign construction worker for Super Bowl?

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Jeff Thomason watched the NFC Championship Game Sunday as a retired player, 2 years removed from the fray.

Yesterday, sitting at the desk in Chesterfield, N.J., where he works as an assistant project manager for Toll Brothers construction, Thomason fielded a series of phone calls. By late afternoon, he'd agreed to return to the Eagles. Assuming he passes a physical today, Thomason will begin practicing tomorrow for the Feb. 6 Super Bowl in his old role as a reserve tight end and special-teams player.

"It's pretty incredible," Thomason, 35, said last night. "I'm just thrilled to be part of this whole thing."

The first call Thomason got yesterday was from his old friend Chad Lewis, whom Thomason had watched score two touchdowns in the Eagles' 27-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Lewis had shocking news: Lewis had suffered a Lisfranc tear in his left foot on the second TD catch, sidelining him for Super Bowl XXXIX. Then Lewis delivered an even bigger surprise.

"He said, 'I'm going to try to get you in here to take my spot,' " said Thomason, whose 10-year NFL career included two Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers, and the 2000-2002 seasons with the Eagles. "Chad's an amazing person, to be thinking of someone else at a time like that."

Thomason wasn't re-signed when the Eagles drafted L.J. Smith in the second round in 2003.

Signing a player who hasn't taken the field in 2 years might seem like a stretch, but with less than 2 weeks to prepare, it's very important that the new tight end understand the Eagles' systems, and be able to help out on special teams, where Smith probably will see a reduced role, now that he's the starting tight end.