Philadelphia Eagles fans were focused on the trade deadline and whether their team would make any more moves after being the most active team in the league in the preceding days. The Eagles made three trades to boost their depth and quality on the defensive end. Amid all the transactions, a sudden retirement of a former Eagle went unnoticed.
Right after the 4 p.m. ET deadline passed, the Los Angeles Chargers announced that they were placing long snapper Rick Lovato on the reserve/retired list. This quiet announcement coming from the team's side means the end of the road for the 33-year-old veteran who spent nine years with the Eagles and won two Super Bowls.
2-Time Super Bowl Champ Rick Lovato Quietly Retires on Tuesday
Lovato played 135 games for the Eagles between 2016 and 2024, making the Pro Bowl once in 2019. He has never missed a game during his Philadelphia tenure and is only one of four Eagles, along with Lane Johnson, Brandon Graham, and Jake Elliott, to win two Super Bowls with the franchise.
The Eagles moved on from Lovato in the offseason, bringing in Charley Hughlett. The veteran long snapper suffered a core muscle injury after four games, landing on the injured reserve list. The Eagles then signed Cal Adomitis, who has been starting in the last four games before the bye week.
Lovato, on the other hand, signed with the Chargers right before the season when the long snapper on their roster, Josh Harris, landed on the IR list. Lovato took over the long snapping duties in Harris' absence, but now that Harris is set to return from injury, the former Eagle was on his way to getting cut.
Instead of getting cut, however, Lovato seems to have decided to hang up the cleats. If he were to be waived, he likely would have had to wait until another team suffered an injury to their long snapper, and even then, it would not have been guaranteed that he would land a deal. That is the life of a long snapper in the NFL, but as careers go, few have had the success that Lovato has enjoyed.
The Eagles will have a decision to make on their long snapper question. Hughlett will return from his surgery before the end of the season; whether they will activate him or continue with Adomitis for the rest of the season remains to be seen.
In the meantime, it'll be interesting to see where Lovato's journey will take him next, especially if he isn't ready to move on from football just yet.