Jason Kelce explains why he likes hanging out at Eagles camp and weighs in on the NFC East drama

As the Eagles season opener approaches, Jason Kelce took a moment to reflect on his time at this summer’s training camp. He shared some of his favorite highlights and discussed players who improved from last year. The former Eagles center also put on his analyst hat to discuss the drama surrounding the NFC East on the latest episode of New Heights.

Although Kelce is enjoying his postretirement life and staying plenty busy, he misses being around football daily. That’s why he got more involved during Eagles training camp.

“I’ve been to a few practices,” Kelce said to his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “I always like to go back to camp, you’ll find this out. You’ll see it when you eventually retire. You miss being in camp. You miss being around the guys. You miss talking football. I was with Joe Thomas this offseason, he said it really well. You build up this wealth of knowledge your whole career, and then all of a sudden, it stops. And there’s not, like, an outlet to talk about all of these things, and going back to camp gets you talking about football again.”

Kelce has learned to observe — and offer advice when he sees the opportunity, thanks to a standing offer from offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. First as a player and now on the sideline, Kelce has watched his former teammates, including Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson, improve and take on elevated leadership roles.

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“Jordan Mailata has developed into such a great personality and leader in that building and on that team,” Kelce said. “Landon Dickerson continues to develop into that role. Tyler Steen had a great camp. He’s a guy that has always had the physical attributes to play well at guard, and you’ve just been waiting for it to click on a more consistent basis. He did that this year against Jalen Carter, one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, on a weekly basis.”

But the highlight of camp for Kelce was the Eagles’ joint practices with the Cleveland Browns.

“Dude, I got to watch — in practice — Lane Johnson and Myles Garrett go up against each other,” Kelce said. “I got to watch two of the best of this decade just casually doing one-on-ones and doing team drills. … In my head, I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m about to watch these two dudes go at it. This is [expletive] insane that this is happening right now.’ And Lane tried this tricky little set that he’s been working on, and he got beat clean inside. Bold strategy by Lane to whip this out in a one-on-one. More power to you.”

Kelce also discussed some of the offseason drama surrounding two of the Eagles’ division rivals: the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys.

Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons has not practiced all summer because of a contract dispute with the team.

“This whole situation, it feels so weird to me,” Kelce said. “I get that you might not want to pay a guy what he’s owed. Actually, I don’t get that. Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe I don’t get that. … There’s one common denominator here, right. And that’s Jerry [Jones]. Like, Jerry is kind of the issue of a lot of things that people have brought up for a long time in Dallas. There’s part of me that really likes Jerry Jones … but you have to find a way to work this out, I feel like, if you’re the owner, with Micah Parsons. And it just feels like it’s not going in the right direction.”

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Meanwhile, Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin ended his holdout, re-signing on a three-year extension worth up to $96 million.

“They’re investing in everything they can do to capitalize on this quarterback while he’s on his rookie contract,” Kelce said. “Which is why I was so surprised that it took so long to get Terry signed. I was like, ‘Listen guys, you got a small window here while Jayden [Daniels] is cheap. Like, you need to strike now.’ And they finally secured that up. That’s a big part of their offense and their ability to stretch the field vertically. … It’s a fun offense to watch. It’s a fun team to watch.

“I’m looking forward to the NFC East this year. But I still think it’s Philadelphia’s division. I think they’re the most talented team.”