Jeff Thomason left a construction site to join the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Twenty years later, he still can’t believe it.

Jeff Thomason was in a work trailer in South Jersey 20 years ago ready to start another Monday morning on a construction site of a new housing development. His phone rang. It was Tom Melvin, an Eagles assistant coach.

Thomason played three seasons with the Birds before trading in his helmet for a hard hat. He watched from home the previous night as the Eagles won the NFC title and finally broke through to the Super Bowl. Thomason figured his old coach was calling to thank him for his contributions in prior seasons.

Nope.

Melvin wanted Thomason to come to South Philly and try out for the Eagles. Chad Lewis, the team’s starting tight end and Thomason’s buddy, broke his foot the night before, catching a touchdown in the team’s 27-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The Birds needed a replacement for the Super Bowl so they called Thomason, then an assistant project manager with Toll Brothers.

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“It was shocking,” Thomason said. “I kind of thought they were joking with me. Never did I think they would bring me back to play in the game.”

Thomason was in. He had retired two years earlier but still missed the game. Of course he would play in the Super Bowl. First, he had to ask his boss.

“I was like ‘I’m going to use my two weeks’ vacation, all right?’ He’s like ‘What?’” Thomason said.

Thomason aced his tryout and flew to Jacksonville, Fla., in January 2005 with the Eagles. He played tight end and helped on special teams in the Super Bowl moonlighting as a football player on the biggest stage. The Eagles lost to the Patriots, 24-21. It was back to work for Thomason.

“It’s a story that needs to be told on TV someday,” said Thomason, 55 who today lives near Dallas and works in sales. “I didn’t think there was a chance in the world that this guy was ever going to play football again.”

Thomason joined the Eagles in 2000, and his first catch with his new team was the touchdown on the opening drive of the Pickle Juice Game, the stunner in Dallas where the Andy Reid Era truly took off.

Years earlier, Reid rejuvenated Thomason’s career after Green Bay cut him before the 1994 season. Thomason, figuring that football was over, took a job selling shower heads. Reid, then the Packers’ tight ends coach, called and told him to stay in shape,because the Packers might need him again. Reid called again a year later, and Green Bay signed Thomason.

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“He truly, truly cares about everyone he’s around, so he’s the guy you want to run through a wall for,” Thomason said of Reid, the Kansas City Chief coach, who opposes the Birds in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 6.

“I could call Andy tomorrow and he’ll pick his phone up and ask how my wife is. He’s just as authentic, as caring, and as real as I’ve ever seen. Everything I do in life, I try to implement that same approach. It makes it real.”

Thomason spent a decade in the NFL as a trusty blocker and dependable special teamer who caught 10 touchdowns, all of which ended with him spiking the football and throwing out his arms to make a “T.”

“Lord knows I can’t do anything else but stand around. I can’t dance, that’s for sure,” Thomason said. “It had to be something stationary. It had to be something simple. My brother, a long time ago, used to throw the ‘T’ out there, so I did it. The first time I did it, it was more of a ‘Y’ because I was so excited. I slowly got it to ‘T.’”

Thomason’s contract with the Eagles ended after the 2002 season, and interest around the league in him was tepid. He accomplished his goal to play 10 seasons, so Thomason walked away after the crushing loss to Tampa Bay in the NFC championship game.

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He long had an interest in construction and used some connections to get an entry-level job with Toll Brothers, the home builders based in Fort Washington. Thomason spent six months in the audit department before moving to the trailer, where he made $37,000 and reported to a 25-year-old boss.

“It’s hard to walk away from the game,” Thomason said. “It’s your whole life. It’s your whole identity. It’s the only thing I had done since I was 8 years old. You’re really never at peace with it. It’s hard, man. It’s hard to get rid of it.

“I knew I could still play but my time in the NFL — it’s Not For Long, obviously — came to an end. But I was never ready to walk away from that. I can tell you that.”

Thomason had been away from the team for two seasons, but most of the coaches were the same, the playbook was still fresh in his mind, and the roster was familiar. Thomason had completed triathlons during his retirement and trained in jujitsu. He was in shape. Everything was in place for him to go from the work site to the Super Bowl.

“I just had to make sure my body could move around,” Thomason said.

Thomason played in two Super Bowls with the Packers, in the 1996 and 1997 seasons, but his trip with Philly was the first time he had a podium on media day. Thomason spent his career as a backup tight end. For a week, he was the star. Thomason was national news, the feel-good story of the Super Bowl. He was featured on Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, and nearly every nightly news broadcast.

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It was special. Thomason made sure to take it all in, knowing this would be his final game. He thought his career ended two years earlier, but instead he got one more night.

“The Super Bowl is the greatest thing in the world,” Thomason said. “That opening kickoff, there’s nothing like it with all the flashing lights. I’m so lucky. It was such a blessing. I wish I could’ve helped them win.”

The owner of Toll Brothers caught enough grief for making Thomason use his two-week vacation that he announced that any employee who plays in the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, or Stanley Cup Finalswould receive an additional two weeks of vacation. Thomason was at ease. Now, he could just play.

“It was such a gift,” Thomason said. “I’m so grateful to Andy. I’m so grateful to Tom Melvin. I’m so grateful to the Philadelphia Eagles for giving me that chance. I sat there on that field. It was a loss, and I felt sick to my stomach. But sitting there selfishly and looking at the grass, knowing I’m never going to see that grass again like that. Wearing cleats, shoulder pads, and a helmet. It was pretty crazy.”