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A.J. Dillon wants to marque a bully content erstwhile helium takes the tract with the reigning Super Bowl champions connected Sept. 4.
The moving backmost spent his archetypal 5 years successful the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, sharing touches with Aaron Jones for astir of his tenure. Dillon missed the 2024 play with a cervix injury, but the Philadelphia Eagles signed him successful escaped bureau - and it is evident to spot wherefore helium joined the Birds.
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Philadelphia Eagles moving backmost A.J. Dillon, #29, runs a drill during the Philadelphia Eagles OTA's connected June 3rd, 2025 astatine the NovaCare Complex successful Philadelphia. (Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"Coming disconnected a Super Bowl, champion violative enactment successful football, Saquon [Barkley]’s a feline I’ve known for a agelong time, truthful it truly worked retired perfect," Dillon told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview. "I’m loving my relation there, getting to cognize my teammates, Philly’s a large city, they got awesome fans, food’s great, football’s great, and it’s a large city. It’s awesome to beryllium retired there, and I’m looking guardant to the season."
However, earlier this month, successful an effort to occurrence up his caput earlier heading to grooming camp, Dillon joined respective different NFL stars, including Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray and eventual victor Justin Reid successful the Chess.com BlitzChamps tournament.
Reid besides won the tourney past year.
Dillon's results were not what helium was hoping for, saying, "there's immoderate chess sharks successful the league," but helium added the crippled of chess is an perfect intelligence warm-up for football.
Philadelphia Eagles moving backmost A.J. Dillon, #29, warms up astatine NovaCare Complex. (Kyle Ross-Imagn Images)
"I deliberation the intelligence portion successful shot is specified a large thing. I deliberation erstwhile you speech astir what sets radical apart, due to the fact that obviously, everybody's talented astatine the assemblage level, and astatine the NFL, everyone’s large and strong, but it’s that intelligence piece," Dillon continued. "How rapidly tin you stitchery information? How tin you deliberation backmost into the scouting report, and truthful forth?
"You tin lone bash truthful overmuch football, truthful inactive trying to situation your mind, but besides get your caput disconnected of football. Chess is simply a large way, and trying to stimulate the caput successful antithetic ways, chess does that successful a mode wherever you’re truly reasoning strategically, and there’s a batch of correlations betwixt chess and football, I think."
Dillon was besides capable to rise wealth for his charity, which helium started past year.
"Being capable to not lone play chess and person fun, but besides beryllium capable to person other wealth to donate to a large origin similar everybody other volition beryllium capable to bash for immoderate they correspond this is simply a immense blessing successful itself," helium added.
The competitory quality successful Dillon volition not fto him telephone it successful aft 1 subpar tourney appearance, either.
AJ Dillon tosses a wireless microphone into the assemblage during an assemblage Q&;A connected Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 astatine the U.S. Venture Center successful Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin. (Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
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"Next time, I'll beryllium a batch better. It decidedly made maine hungry. I'm a competitor," Dillon said. "It’s OK, my archetypal time. I cognize what the contention is like, truthful I gotta measurement it up. I got the Chess.com app downloaded connected the phone, truthful erstwhile I got immoderate down time, decidedly volition play immoderate accumulation matches and things similar that. Definitely looking astatine shingle up the tables adjacent year."
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