Jahan Dotson began this season in training camp with the Commanders and will end it in Super Bowl LIX, albeit as the WR3 for the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
A little bittersweet as he caught up with JP Finlay during Super Bowl media sessions, but one year after the Commanders hired the head coach who helped decide his future wasn’t in DC, Dotson seems grateful for the process that has brought him to this point.
“It’s a lot different, but it’s really cool. I’m taking it all in, enjoying the process, just enjoying being here and living every day to the max,” Dotson said. “Life’s changed a lot. If I wrote a book about the last year of my life, you'd be amazed, but it's been awesome. Through faith, through trusting in the process, trusting in my plans, I'm living out my dreams. It's honestly a dream come true that I'm able to be here, and be where I'm at knowing the things that I've been through. It’s pretty awesome.”
Dotson is in the Eagles’ second Super Bowl in three years trying to stop the Chiefs from a three-peat, and even though it’s all new to him, he knows the mission at hand.
“Early in the week, knowing that you're here, everything's kind of brand new to me, and you’re taking it all in, but you know, we came down here for a game,” Dotson said. “it's a business trip at the end of the day. We're trying to leave with a ring on our fingers.”
To get to this point, they had to go through the Commanders, and the rubber match that went Philly’s way in the NFC Title Game was ‘a great experience’ for Dotson – although not necessarily a third ‘revenge’ game, as he understands the business behind where he is now.
“We knew they were a good opponent and were gonna give us a lot of fits, but we managed to come out with a big victory,” Dotson said. “I wouldn’t say I was hurt (by the trade) – it’s all a part of business and everyday life.
Sometimes you get hit with adversity, you gotta move on, and just make the most of your opportunities, and that's what I did when I came here. I’m just trying to make the most of every opportunity I've been dealt, so it’s been awesome, and I'm enjoying my time. We have a great bunch of guys on this team, everyone takes this seriously and prepares like champions, and it's a reason that we're here today.”
Dotson has the Super Bowl, but the Commanders do have an extra pair of seventh-round picks and moved their fifth to a three that was used to trade for Marshon Lattimore, so time will tell what happens when all is said and done.