Philadelphia Eagles' defensive tackle, Jordan Davis, is making news for more than just his impressive NFL season. The 25-year-old recently revealed that he lost 26 pounds during the offseason. Jordan is listed on the Eagles' roster as 336 pounds, but he wanted to slim down. The football player successfully did just that, weighing the same as he did during his sophomore season at the University of Georgia. But how did Jordan do it?
During an interview with CBS Sports, Jordan explained: "I wanted to make the changes because it's absolutely necessary, like cutting out the extra sugars, cutting out the juice. You can't drink your calories." He continued: "I'm starting to understand that and how detrimental that is. I'm getting older. I can't just go out and run a couple miles and the weight sheds off me. It takes more effort to get in that mode."
He also explained that turning 25 really made him consider his health. Jordan said: "When I hit 25 everything just kind of clicked like that…When I turned 25 I just realized it was necessary not only for me, not only for the Eagles, and the team, but for life." He went on: "Doing that and being in the best shape of my life so I can provide for the team and be the best player I can be, it's what I had to do."
Jordan's NFL season
Ahead of Jordan's fourth year in the league, he asked the Eagles if he could take on a bigger role on the team. "[I'm] understanding that my role is bigger and what's expected of me is greater and so on," Jordan said. "Obviously you have to change and adapt. I'm just glad I'm at this place now and I can hit the ground running."
In a major play against the Los Angeles Rams, Jordan swatted Joshua Karty's 44-yard attempt at the line of scrimmage, picked up the ball, and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown. A play he argues was made possible because of his weight loss. Jordan's teammate, the star running back Saquon Barkley, told reporters after the Eagles third game: "All that weight [Jordan] lost, he might not make that block last year. He might not make that play last year."
"I think it's just a good example of a guy continuing to work, continuing to get better because he should be playing better football now than he was when he first entered the NFL," head coach Nick Sirianni said. "[Jordan's] put a lot of work into it and played in a lot of meaningful games and went against really good players in practice."
After that game, Jordan won Special Teams Player of the Week. Kelee Ringo, one of Jordan's teammates from the University of Georgia told NBC Sports: "It was a good moment just to see him open up and seeing his smile as he crossed the line. Seeing that moment for him was a great moment."