In A Snap

PHILADELPHIA — Earlier this week, Cal Adomitis was back home in Pittsburgh, miring in his orbit of reality for the better part of five weeks.

Instead of long-snapping to kickers and punters as one-third of a specialist operation on Sundays, Adomitis spent his time away from football relaxing, spending time with family, training — and waiting for a call.

Appearing in 49 games over three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, Adomitis, a 2022 rookie free agent success story, found himself on the outside looking in. He’d come out on the wrong side of a position battle against rookie free agent William Wagner and was left without a team.

Considering that only 32 total jobs exist in his line of work, the scarcity for employment is heightened. Adomitis last week worked out for the Giants. He also had workouts slated for later this week, one with the Tennessee Titans and another with the Arizona Cardinals. Adomitis, however, never made that flight to Tennessee.

GETTY IMAGES: New Eagles LS Cal Adomitis had very little tine to get acclimated to his new surroundings before Sunday’s debut.

Receiving a call from his agent, Adomitis learned his workouts with the Titans and Cardinals were being cancelled. It was then that he also learned he’d be heading to Philadelphia, replacing injured Eagles long-snapper Charley Hughlett on the 53-man roster. He was back in the game. One of 32.

“I was eating lunch at the kitchen table,” Adomitis recalled. “My mom was home, as well, and she heard me on the phone kind of excited, ‘Like, OK, cool. Sweet, sweet!’ I was like, ‘Hey mom, I’m not going to Tennessee tomorrow. I’m heading to Philly tonight! So, it was cool. It was fun.'”

The extended layoff for Adomitis was as unusual as it was untimely, but rather than wallow, the 27-year-old embraced the downtime, viewing his setback through the lens of an optimistic perspective.

“It might sound counterintuitive, but to be quite honest, in the last month and a half – when I haven’t been on a team – it kind of gave me almost a little more time,” he said. “Just because I wasn’t immensely preparing for an opponent each week, and studying the game plan and things like that.

“It was more just time where I could go to the field and be there for two hours and just take as much time as I need to warm up and lock into some of the smaller nuts and bolts that sometimes you don’t get as much time to lock in on week to week when you’re in season.”

But even apart from his experience in Cincinnati, Adomitis carried credentials. While at Pittsburgh, Adomitis was a 2021 Mannelly Awarded winner, awarded to the nation’s best long-snapper.

His impact, however, extended beyond his on-field accolades; while at Pittsburgh, Adomitis grew his hair and then cut it in support of “Locks of Love,” a non-profit dedicated to helping children that suffer from medical hair loss. The commendable character and devotion to his craft makes Adomitis a perfect marriage with Philadelphia.

But before Adomitis can take the field Sunday for his Eagles debut, he must first establish a rapport with his newest three-piece operation, including kicker Jake Elliott and punter Braden Mann. Elliott and Mann spent the offseason learning the tendencies and familiarizing themselves with Hughlett, who was signed to replace long-time snapper Rick Lovato, and now must work together to ensure all is dialed in come one o’clock Sunday afternoon.

And Adomitis, on Wednesday, indicated that early returns have been promising.

“It’s been good,” Adomitis said. “I really like, just their philosophy in how they approach special teams. And they’re football guys. They bring a ton of energy, and so it’s really made it easy for me to just come in and dive in head-first and match their energy, really. That’s all I’m trying to do, is match their energy and show up, be ready to learn and be an open book. And just trust that that’s gonna get the job done. And so, really, that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”

Life of a specialist can be harshly fickle. With such limited opportunities, miscues are magnified and jobs largely unsecured. That sentiment isn’t lost on Adomitis, who never allows himself to become complacent. He strives to hone his craft and seek information, while versing himself in adaptability. All useful tools necessary in establishing synchronicity with Elliott and Mann, as the Eagles prepare for the months ahead without Hughlett.

“This will be my fourth year in league,” he said. “And I think one of the things about – I’m sure any position would say this – but being a specialist, you never really arrive. There’s always something you gotta work on. And so, I think for me, it’s just recognizing with every new unit or every other specialist I work with, it’s always gonna check your ego a little bit.

“You’re always gonna have to find ways to adjust and learn new things from different guys than you hadn’t even thought of before. So, I think just staying humble is a big thing when you walk into a new room. And being willing to learn from those guys and not be the guy that’s like, ‘I know everything,’ ’cause none of us do. We’re all just trying to continue to learn as we go.”

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com