It seems that will be all for center Jason Kelce.
The man selected by the Eagles with the 191st pick in the draft (sixth round) back in the 2011 draft seems to be ready to hang it up.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that the Eagles legend told teammates he will retire following Monday Night’s loss to the Buccaneers.
#Eagles C Jason Kelce informed teammates after last night’s loss he will retire, as @AdamSchefter said. Kelce’s emotional final few moments on the field, in which he hugged longtime OL coach Jeff Stoutland, wrapped up a 13-year, seven-time Pro Bowl, six-time All-Pro career. https://t.co/7k5Pz5eXS9
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 16, 2024
Assuming it’s true, the retirement has little to do with his play.
The Eagles completed perhaps the most epic collapse of any pro sports team in our lifetimes and all that does is put a real damper on the end of the 36-year-old’s career as his play certainly wasn’t to blame for the way things went down.
Kelce started 193 games for the Eagles throughout his career, was named to seven Pro Bowl rosters (including this season), and named to six AP All-Pro teams (including this year) putting him well into the territory it should no longer be a question of if he’ll be in the Hall of Fame, but when.
One of the craziest parts of Kelce’s career was how much he was able to improve over time and really only begin receiving recognitions late in his career. All six of his All-Pro selections came AFTER he was 30, meaning that the Associated Press believes that the best seasons of his career were essentially his last seven.
He was selected by the fans to only two Pro Bowls before he was 30, the other five coming after that time.
It’s an incredible feat by Kelce that, six years ago, it almost felt a little crazy to write in articles here that Kelce could find himself in the Hall of Fame if he can continue to rack of awards the voters will look at and now he’s earned almost as many individual honors as possible since that time, regardless of how poor the team around him is.
The Super Bowl LII Champion has become a fixture of the franchise and city. One would have to imagine that Kelce will be welcome to stay with the team in some sort of role after he retires, even if it’s only to have him around for fan interactions.
While you have to give Kelce props and wish him well on an absolutely incredible career, it does make an already sad day that much more emotional: there will not be another player like Jason Kelce.
The Eagles also have several other long-time fixtures that could consider retirement along their lines, though Lane Johnson appears ready to return and Brandon Graham had previously told reporters he planned to play in the 2024-25 season. That primarily leaves defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, Kelce’s long time sparring partner at practice, as the other potential Eagles legend that could hang it up this offseason.
The Eagles did draft Cam Jurgens to replace Kelce, but they’ll hope he can improve because his first playoff game was brutally bad. Still, if it takes him a few years to fully develop into half the player Kelce was (as Jason believes he well could), the Eagles would be more than happy to have him available to take over for the next several years/decades.
