Jason Kelce tells Eagles teammates he plans to retire, sources confirm

Eagles center Jason Kelce told teammates after the playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he plans to retire, according to league sources confirming an ESPN report.

The 36-year-old was emotional Monday in the closing moments of the 32-9 loss at Raymond James Stadium and declined to speak to reporters in the locker room.

“No, guys,” Kelce said as he headed toward the exit. “Not today.”

Kelce told The Inquirer he has yet to make his retirement official, but the writing was on the wall as the Eagles processed the end of the season.

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The ESPN telecast showed Kelce hugging offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland as the game came to an end. Kelce has considered retirement in the last several offseasons but was still among the best at his position. He was voted first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press last week, marking the sixth time he has earned the honor in his 13-year career. Each of the other four centers in NFL history with six or more first-team All-Pro nods has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After the ugly loss at the hands of the Bucs, Kelce’s teammates seemed to sense what was to come. Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said Kelce “hinted at” this being his last season in the lead-up to the postseason and tried to put their decade-long relationship into perspective after the game.

“I love him,” Johnson said. “He’s one of my brothers. I never had a brother growing up. I was an only child. So these guys are my family. I love him. He’s one of the best centers to ever play the game. There are few guys who can do the things he can do on the football field athletically.”

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Kelce will go down as one of the best centers in NFL history with a Hall of Fame resumé and an Eagles legend famous for his athleticism, tenacity, toughness, and speech-making ability.

He ranks second in franchise history in games played behind only Brandon Graham. His 156 consecutive games played are a franchise record. Doing so has required him to play through myriad injuries to his knees, ankles, left elbow, and more.

“What sets him apart is obviously the passion,” reserve lineman Brett Toth said last week. “You’re in a position that’s very tough to get excited to do the task. You take hits off other people and it’s nonstop physical. And then you also see his durability, longevity, how he’s been able to fight through injuries, it makes other men just kind of stare in awe at him.

“I was here the year he got his elbow done and they were saying the only thing that kept it together was the brace,” Toth added. “But he only missed four reps. It happened and then he came back in after the half. He’s a man amongst men.”

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The level of intensity materialized most notably during the Eagles’ championship parade after winning Super Bowl LII. Dressed as a Mummer, Kelce delivered an impassioned speech on the Art Museum steps, chronicling all the adversity almost every member of the team of “hungry dogs” had to overcome to claim the franchise’s first and only Super Bowl title.

That intensity, along with the grueling nature of the position he plays, has also led Kelce to almost annually consider retirement. He announced his intention to return in the last two offseasons after mulling his decision, releasing statements in March both times.

Encouraged by the direction of the team after the 2021 season, Kelce said on a social media video that he was having “too much fun” to retire. The following year, after coming up just short in Super Bowl LVII, he returned and got another chance to play against his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, in Week 11.

When asked about Kelce’s looming decision, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni confirmed the obvious: The team isn’t quite ready to say goodbye to one of its most iconic players.

“He’s always got a place here and I’ll always want him to play,” Sirianni said. “We’ll see what happens as time progresses here.”

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Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts added, ”He’s a legend in the city, really in the league. I don’t want to do a disservice to him and the things he’s been able to do and overcome. His journey to where he is now didn’t come easy. It’s been a long, long time coming for him. Every year since I’ve been here has been, ‘Do you want to come back?’ But he knows. He knows how much I love and appreciate him.”

Kelce went into the 2023 season as the eldest player on the Eagles’ roster.

The Eagles selected him in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft out of Cincinnati, where he converted from linebacker to center after making the team as a walk-on.

Despite being undersized, Kelce was athletic enough to become a fixture on the Eagles’ offensive line in short order, starting all 16 games at the center of Andy Reid’s offense in his rookie season.

His tenure with the Eagles wasn’t always decorated. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2014 as a 27-year-old and wasn’t named to an All-Pro team until he turned 30. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound lineman earned the respect of his teammates in part because of his improbable path toward what has been a dominant career.

“It wasn’t always like this,” Toth said. “And I think that’s why he represents Philly perfectly, because you’re not getting the 6-10 freak, 380 pounds, who runs a [4.5-second 40-yard dash] like, unnatural. It’s the guy that’s blue-collar, had to work every damn day. He deserves his flowers when it’s all said and done.”

Eagles running back Boston Scott added, “He’s an inspirational person. Like, he was a walk-on in college. Me being a walk-on myself, I definitely understand what comes with that. How hard it is, how people view you. Everything about that situation is tough. It’s hard to make a name for himself. For him to take that, play a completely different position, and carve out the career he has to this point? He’s an anomaly.”

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The Eagles drafted Cam Jurgens in the second round of the 2022 draft partially with the help of Kelce, who acknowledged the similarities between the former Nebraska center and himself.

Jurgens started alongside Kelce at right guard this season but seems like the logical choice to move back to the position he played in college. The similarities between Jurgens’ athleticism and Kelce’s have earned the 24-year-old the nickname “Kelce’s Shadow” by Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata.

“You can get him out in the open space, Kelce’s Shadow is going to do his thing,” Mailata told The Inquirer. “That dude is explosive, he’s dynamic, he’s agile, his ability to read the field — he plays center, so he can read the concepts.”

Jurgens said last week that he didn’t view himself as Kelce’s successor, especially since switching from center to guard for the season.

When asked before the Buccaneers game about the possibility of Jurgens replacing him, Kelce said he wanted whoever succeeds him to play without the pressure of living up to a franchise icon.

“I hope that whoever that is, if that’s Cam Jurgens, that they feel zero pressure,” Kelce said. “Whoever is in at center is going to be living their own legacy that has nothing to do with me. Hopefully, I’ve imparted enough knowledge as I can with those guys so, when that time is done, they’re in a position to feel comfortable. Whoever is playing center in the future is going to be their own person.”

Staff writer Jeff McLane contributed to this article.

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