March 04, 2024
Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports
Jason Kelce went from a sixth-round pick to "Taylor's Boyfriend's Brother." He was more than both of those labels.
In April and May around the turn of the 21st century, the Eagles drafting trench players was always met with a groan across the Delaware Valley. Stacking up offensive and defensive linemen was never as juicy as landing a stat-stuffing wide receiver or a Heisman-level running back, but the Eagles showcased that this team-building philosophy kept them consistently primed for contention over the last two decades.
There were homegrown Pro Bowlers like Tra Thomas and Shawn Andrews. Jon Runyan was a perfect free agent signing. Future Hall of Famer Jason Peters was brought in via a steal of a trade. Still, it was not until an unheralded, undersized converted fullback from the University of Cincinnati changed the perception of offensive linemen in this city.
That speaks to not just the player, but the person Jason Kelce is.
The All-Pro center announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday in a tearful press conference, ending a prolific 13-year career spent entirely with the Birds. He was more than his accolades. No athlete, no Founding Father, no single person who began as an outsider to Philadelphia has exemplified the city's ethos the way Kelce has.
Kelce is a boisterous beer-guzzling, walking "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" character. Playing in multiple eras of Eagles football that saw Nick Foles the miracle worker and Jalen Hurts as an MVP candidate, Kelce stood tall above them all. How rare is that? An offensive lineman, a center at that, not even one of those prized offensive tackles, is the most famous guy on the team. Kelce's been the most famous guy in the city overall for years! A profanity-laced rant about everyone counting out the Eagles and building up Philadelphia's collective underdog aura will do that:
🔈 ⬆️ for Jason Kelce's speech for the ages in all of its glory. pic.twitter.com/ihHI3qDUsc
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 8, 2018
It changed the way offensive linemen are viewed in this city. Credit to their respective personalities, but a group of offensive linemen, Kelce included, made a Christmas album. People adored it! Jordan Mailata? Lane Johnson? Both are beloved, though not quite at Kelce's level. No one may ever be able to reach that. Kelce should not be compared to his teammates nor many Eagles of the past. Kelce transcends that and will be stacked up alongside the likes of A.I, Dawk, Schmidty, Chase, Reggie and The Doctor.
Kelce's tenure was not always rowdy fun, though it may feel like it since that life-altering Super Bowl win. Flashback to 2016. Kelce had a pretty rough season. There was talk that he'd be cut or traded. Luckily for Eagles fans everywhere, that didn't come to fruition, as Kelce ripped off six First-Team All-Pro nods and locked up his Hall of Fame case. He went from merely the darling of Philly to a flat-out pop culture star. Part of that is due to his relationship with his brother Travis, another Hall of Fame-bound player, as their "New Heights" podcast has left them as the 2020s version of the Manning brothers. The fact that the younger Kelce is dating Taylor Swift plays a role there, of course. A shirtless Kelce chugging beers at Chiefs playoff games while sitting adjacent to Swift has endeared him to an entirely new demographic of football fans. He may be "Taylor's Boyfriend's Brother" and that will give him everlasting fame, but crushing linebackers while pulling on outside zone runs paved the road to this superstardom.
Kelce now hangs up his cleats. It won't be long before measurements are taken for his gold jacket in Canton. He will remain a figure around football given his blossoming media career with his brother that has him hitting another level as a wider cultural figure. Kelce still belongs to Philly despite it all. He assuredly wouldn't have it any other way.
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