Eagles Fans, Get Ready to Say Goodbye to Jason Kelce
Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce has always had an excellent curveball.
Retirement has become an annual wrestling match for the most popular Eagles player, one that gets more and more enticing as the calendar continues to turn and the charismatic team captain’s options off the field grow exponentially.
This finally does feel like it for Kelce, who has hinted pretty consistently to his close friends on the team that 2024 will be the post-Kelce era in Philadelphia.
The most recent breadcrumbs came from Jordan Mailata, who didn’t mince words out in Las Vegas when the star left tackle said he’s going to miss one of his mentors, and a Front Office Sports report revealed that Kelce has met with ESPN and FOX about potential television gigs moving forward.
Kelce’s own popular “New Heights Podcast” with brother Travis had a large footprint in Las Vegas as well with a live component for the second consecutive year and the rite of passage of a Super Bowl party.
Kelce was spotted playing blackjack with comedians Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura, as well as attending a U2 concert at the Sphere.
Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce
USA Today
Unlike last year when both Jason and Travis still had work to do in the leadup to the Super Bowl, only the latter has to worry about playing time this February so all of the aforementioned things can also point to a popular guy on vacation vs. one that know he’s done.
Kelce has always been consistent pointing back to advice he received from his first offensive line coach Howard Mudd.
"Howard Mudd, before he passed, gave me the advice, 'When in doubt, don't,'" Kelce said last February. "You can use that for anything, by the way, not just retirement."
Multiple advisors have offered the same sentiment to Kelce in recent years when weighing the decision.
"From everything I've been told about when you know it's time to retire or not, you just know when you know, and it's going to be when you don't want to play football anymore," Kelce said.
To date, Kelce has always had doubt but it's waning.
Winning or having a chance to win will not cloud the decision. Kelce spoke very highly of the Eagles' chances in 2024 and seemed happy with the additions of Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio while speaking with former teammate Chris Long on his “Green Light Podcast” out in Vegas. That said, it's always been about the grind and if you can give everything you have to your teammates for another year for Kelce.
In the past Kelce’s decisions have been complicated by his perception that he can’t picture a point where he doesn’t want to play football any longer but his current O-Line coach, Jeff Stoutland, has insisted that will come.
“I remember talking to Stout maybe [three] years ago, and I was like, ‘I don't know when that time's going to come or how I'm going to know when to stop," Kelce said. "And he's like, 'You'll know. You won't want to do it anymore.
"And I said, 'I don't think that's ever going to happen and he's like, 'No, it'll happen. Trust me, it'll happen.'"
It’s happening.
Don’t expect Kelce back this time despite his love of the locker room and the NovaCare Complex cafeteria. From there, the Eagles will begin moving forward with the contingency plan of Cam Jurgens moving inside to play his more natural position and Tyler Steen getting an opportunity to lock down right guard.
If Kelce does have one more Bert Blyleven-level hook in him, the likely future Hall of Famer will freeze just about everyone who knows him well.
The far more likely scenario is a tip of the cap and the slow walk off after a career for the ages.
As for the almost-guaranteed home run second act, Kelce has far more avenues than most and the ones he chooses will eventually be accompanied by a bronze bust and a gold jacket.
