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According to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun, the Eagles will host Navy long snapper Joe Cardona for a pre-draft visit. Cardona is set to visit Philadelphia next week.
As you can imagine, it's not too often (if ever?) teams decide to bring in long snappers for pre-draft visits. Especially when teams already have a long snapper in place like the Eagles do with Jon Dorenbos. Then again, Dorenbos turns 35 in July and his contract runs through the 2016 season so maybe Cardona is his future replacement.
In any case, it's not a surprise to see Cardona visiting the Eagles due to Chip Kelly's immense respect for the U.S. military. Last year Kelly named Navy slotback Will McKamey, who died after collapsing during a football price, an honorary member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelly also signed former U.S. Army Ranger Alejandaro Villanueva in order to let him compete for a roster spot.
This isn't the first time the Eagles have shown interest in Cardona. The El Cajon, California native was interviewed by Kelly at the 2015 Senior Bowl.
It remains to be seen if Cardona will be able to play right away in the NFL. He's required to serve five years as a Navy officer and will be commissioned in May. He won't be able to play football unless he's granted a special exception.
Cardona measures in at 6-2, 242 pounds. He was the only long snapper at the 2015 NFL Combine. He benched pressed 225 pounds 30 times and had a 33-inch vertical leap and a 4.91 in the 40-yard dash. Cardona's snaps have apparently been gauged at 41 mph.
If you actually want to watch some Cardona tape, click here.
Complete list of known Eagles draft visits
LS Joe Cardona, Navy
OL Terry Poole, San Diego State
WR Jaelen Strong, Arizona State
LB Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State