Saints long snapper Jon Dorenbos had an aortic aneurysm
Jon Dorenbos, the newly acquired New Orleans Saints long snapper had a major health scare.
Dorenbos suffered an aortic aneurysm, according to Josh Katzenstein, a Saints beat writer for The Times-Picayune. He required immediate open heart surgery to repair the damage. According to the following tweet from the Saints, they placed him on the Non-Football Injury List.
#Saints long snapper @JonDorenbos to have surgery for aortic aneurysm. Placed on Non Football Injury List https://t.co/4UBEodjFAy pic.twitter.com/VFQ4AfupEr
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 8, 2017
Dorenbos made headlines when the Philidelphia Eagles traded him to the Saints at the end of August. While it was the second long snapper trade this offseason, it is not a position that gets traded often. The most recent long snapper trade not occurring this year was in 2009.
Before joining the Saints in the unusual trade, Dorenbos made headlines in other ways. He is a talented magician who performed on America’s Got Talent season 11. He was also the Eagles longest tenured player.
While he was a fan favorite and a leader on special teams, Dorenbos has had some other health issues recently that lead to the trade. Dorenbos, who had played 160 straight games, injured his wrist last season and missed some time.
That missed time caused the Eagles to scramble. Eventually, they had a third string tight end cover long snapping duties. In order to avoid that situation, the Eagles went with a younger, cheaper option and sent Dorenbos to the Saints.
The Saints assumed they had found an incredibly consistent long snapper who could tie down their special teams. Unfortunately, that is not the case. While New Orleans shocked the world with their trade for Dorenbos, do not expect them to find another trading partner.
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New Orleans will likely sign one of the long snappers who did not make the cut for other teams at camps across the league. Favorites could include Tanner Purdum, a snapper who played for the Jets for seven years Colin Holba from the Steelers. Holba was a sixth round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Football fans across the world sincerely offer their thoughts and prayers. No one wanted to see Dorenbos suffer this injury, and we all hope he comes out okay on the other side.