NEW ORLEANS — He possesses what none of his Eagles teammates own, and they are not on display and definitely not worn around the premises.
“I got two of ’em. They are in a safety deposit box in a bank,” Darian Kinnard told The Post. “I wore them for events when I was there, but since I left, I haven’t put ’em on.”
What he has are two Super Bowl rings, earned the past two years for his time with the Chiefs as a backup offensive lineman and practice squad player.
It would not be good form to wear them around his new team.
Not after the Eagles lost to the Chiefs two years ago in the Super Bowl, with a rematch coming Sunday in Super Bowl 2025 inside the Caesars Superdome.
“I guess I can say I’m kind of spoiled when it comes to that, three years in, two rings and possibly going for a third,” Kinnard said. “It’s pretty exciting. Sunday, we’ll figure out which side gets a third.’’
This is no double-agent deal, but Kinnard, a 2022 fifth-round pick of the Chiefs out of Kentucky, is as close to a Kansas City insider as there is in the Eagles locker room.
“Some of the insight I got is going against the ‘D’ line and understanding that two training camps with [Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve] Spagnuolo, kind of just a little bit of that,” Kinnard said. “A lot of the insight you can see on tape. We got a lot of coaches that break down film. If they want to get an insight on a players’ perspective of things, I might be able to give a little bit of an edge on that. Being here, being against these guys, I’m excited about the matchup and I can’t wait for it.”
Kinnard, 25, has played in just three games in his NFL career: One with the Chiefs in 2022, and two with the Eagles this past season.
He was inactive for 14 games in 2024, and got on the field for just three snaps before the regular-season finale, when he started along with the rest of the Eagle’s backups and played all 68 snaps on offense in a 20-13 victory over the Giants.
The two Super Bowl teams share common traits, says a player who spent time with both of them.
“I think both teams are, I guess, very ʙuттoned up and very professional about what they do and what the goals they need to accomplish are,” Kinnard said. “There are small differences in terms of how the process for each team looks.”
Kinnard sat, largely unnoticed, during media sessions this past week.
His ties with the Chiefs were not much of a topic of discussion.
Nor was an unexpected familial connection.
He is a distant relative of country music legend Dolly Parton.
His Aunt Ginger is Parton’s first cousin — they grew up on the same street in Tennessee, where Kinnard spent much of his childhood.
Kinnard has seen pictures of his aunt and Parton together.
He has never met Parton and admits he is not much of a fan of her music.
“I didn’t find out until I was like 17, damn near 18, that she was my third cousin or fourth cousin,’’ Kinnard said. “Cool story; I was told they both learned to drive together, so that’s pretty cool.’’
