March 04, 2024
Philadelphia Eagles star center Jason Kelce announced on Monday that he is retiring from the NFL. He can pretty safely be considered the best center in Eagles history, and one of the best to ever play in the NFL.
Kelce gave an emotional speech that lasted over 40 minutes, covering his childhood, his family, his teammates, his coaches, his career, and some stories along his journey, which you can watch below if you missed the live feed.
Jason Kelce meets with the media to discuss his future. https://t.co/x1Zb6eJWBA
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 4, 2024
Over his 13-year career, Kelce earned six First-Team All Pro nods, seven trips to the Pro Bowl, and he was a part of the Eagles' first ever Super Bowl victory, after which he cemented his local lifetime legend status with a profanity-laden speech at the ensuing parade.
Kelce played in 193 regular season games, plus 12 playoff games, starting in all of them. He also started in 157 consecutive Eagles games, a team record.
Kelce was undersized, but he was uniquely gifted with speed, athleticism, and technique. There was nobody in the NFL at center who was better at racing down the field in front of screens, getting to the second level on run plays, or pulling to the outside. Early in his career he struggled with mammoth defensive tackles, but over time he learned how to out-leverage them and become a complete center with nearly no flaws.
In five years, Kelce will be eligible for Hall of Fame enshrinement, and he'll have a decent chance of becoming a first-ballot entry.
He also has had success with other off-the-field interests, such as the "New Heights" podcast that he co-hosts with his brother Travis, another future Hall of Famer with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he has become something close to household name nationally as a result of his tangential association with his brother's girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
Kelce is likely to be play some role in NFL media in his post-playing career, and it should be fun to watch his personality bloom in whatever path he goes down.
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