Ex-Eagle Jason Avant to compete on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

Former longtime Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant will appear on tonight's episode of American Ninja Warrior as a contestant.

As a sneak preview clip of the appearance shows, Avant, 35, ran through American Ninja Warrior's qualification course with former Eagles safety Quintin Mikell and current cornerback Jalen Mills as his cheering section.

A Chicago native, Avant joined the Eagles in 2006, and stayed with the team until his release in 2014. From there, also played for the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs before retiring in 2015. Of his 148 NFL games, 116 were with the Eagles.

Currently, Avant runs Launch, a Deptford, NJ-based trampoline park, which opened last year. According to NBC, Avant also lives in the Philadelphia area.

American Ninja Warrior brought its qualifying course to Philadelphia's old Richmond Power Plant last month, which prompted the ex-Eagle to compete, as he told fan site American Ninja Warrior Nation. Competing in front of Philly crowds, after all, is close to his heart.

"It means a bunch to me. I was like, man, I'm going to be in front of a home crowd," he said. "The city's on fire because the Eagles won the Super Bowl. I'm just excited to represent the organization and Philadelphia. And you know what, I'm just excited about it. It means a bunch to me. And I know how passionate the city is. Hopefully I can represent well."

Avant's full American Ninja Warrior qualifying run airs tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC.