Philadelphia Eagles sign Dan Arnold: Fun facts about the new guy

Reports about Dan Arnold‘s signing came on Thursday. On the day we celebrate Cinco de Mayo (and the beginning of another rookie minicamp for the Philadelphia Eagles), Philly’s social media team and official website announced that pen had been put to paper and another addition to one of the NFL’s most powerful offenses had been made.

Arnold joins the nest by way of a one-year deal. At the time of this story’s completion and release, the financial details had not yet been released. This one won’t move the meter like a draft-day trade that lands A.J. Brown or D’Andre Swift, but Arnold is an intriguing addition to this Eagles team. What do we know? Who in the heck is this guy? We’re glad you asked.

As you might expect, we did a little digging.

Here are a few fun facts about the new guy, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dan Arnold.

Dan Arnold is a six-foot-six, 240-pounder that just turned 28 years young on March 15th. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, he attended school in Rockford, Illinois after his mother landed a job at Boylan Catholic High School.

He brings in-game experience to Philly’s roster. It’s too earlier to determine if he’ll land on the roster, but he’ll be in competition with Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra, Dalton Keene, and Tyree Jackson for one of what we assume will be two spots on the 53-man roster behind Dallas Goedert.

Who knew this guy was a former track star?

Arnold attended the University of Wisconsin–Platteville where, among other things, he joined the track team and competed in the 110m hurdles. One of the highlights of his track career was finishing second in the Division 3 110m hurdle championship. He also a NCAA Division III runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles back in 2016.

A former undrafted free agent, Dan Arnold is well-traveled and joins the Eagles after a handful of stops in other cities. Seven rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft came and went without Arnold hearing his name called, but he received invitations to attend the rookie minicamps of the Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints for a tryout.

The Saints signed him to a three-year, $1.66 million deal on June 5th of that year. He has since spent time with the Arizona Cardinals (2019–2020), the Carolina Panthers (2021), and the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has earned another opportunity now with the Philadelphia Eagles.

As always, we have to bring up some numbers.

If he proves himself worthy, Dan Arnold would provide another target for Jalen Hurts on third down and in the red zone. For his career, he boasts 59 career in-game NFL regular-season appearances. He has started 11 games and made 95 receptions. That has resulted in 1,258 yards and seven touchdowns.