The general consensus is that Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce will retire this offseason, but that statement has never actually come out of Kelce’s mouth.
Many are basing this assumption off the fact that Kelce is 36 years old and appeared particularly somber following the Eagles’ Wild Card Round playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this month, but Kelce has insisted that he has not yet made a decision.
After watching his brother, Travis, and the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, the elder Kelce brother once again spoke about his future, and this time, it seemed that he is leaning toward returning.
“As a Philadelphia Eagle, incredibly disappointing season, especially at the end of it, and I really, really look forward to next year, I look forward to trying to prove people wrong, especially with some of the recent hires and Nick Sirianni,” Kelce told Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “And there’s a lot of things up in the air for the Philadelphia Eagles. But I think that, as a player, you always look forward to go into battle with your guys.”
That does not sound like a guy who is ready to call it quits, and he may have been galvanized by watching his younger brother make it to his fourth Super Bowl in five years this past weekend.
“You watch this and the emotion is so high,” Kelce said. “It feels so great being here on this field right now for your teammates and for the guys that are going to get an opportunity to compete for a Super Bowl. These are emotions. And these are situations that you don’t get unless you continue to go.”
Kelce has had the opportunity to participate in two Super Bowls since entering the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Eagles back in 2011.
He was a member of Philadelphia’s championship-winning team during the 2018-19 campaign, and last year, he lost to Travis and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
We’ll see if Jason Kelce does indeed get the itch to play at least one more season.
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