Eagles star claims Jason Kelce has ‘no shot’ of playing in NFL next season: Report
Jason Kelce has said that any decision on his future will come on his terms. When reports surfaced that he had told his teammates in the Philadelphia Eagles that he was retiring, Kelce clarified on his New Heights podcast that he was just being emotional. But one of the said teammates thinks the veteran center may actually be done.
During the week of Super Bowl LVIII, left tackle Jordan Mailata said on John Clark's ART19/Amazon podcast Takeoff that since the Eagles' elimination from the Wild Card Round, Kelce enjoyed himself way too much to be able to physically, mentally and psychologically recondition himself to playing football:
“There’s no shot! You’re telling me, he’s going shirt off at the game, gambling in the casinos, he’s coming back? No way. He’s having too much fun."
Eagles radio announcer wants Jason Kelce to retire
Mailata is not the only person to call for his fellow lineman to hang up his cleats. Merrill Reese, the Eagles' radio play-by-play announcer, also voiced similar notions.
Merrill said about Kelce to Ike Reese and Jack Fritz on 94WIP Afternoons that he deeply cares for the one-time Super Bowl champion and multiple-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler, who's a "very special individual":
"There is only so much pounding you can take without causing later problems. He's been pounded a lot; you know what he goes through just to get ready for every single game. And you know how many times he leaves a game and you think, 'Well he's out of this game.' And then after halftime he leads the team back onto the field.
"He has taken a beating over these last 13 years, and I think, for his own health and well being in the future, I think it's time for him to retire."
What is the Eagles' contingency plan if Jason Kelce retires?
Should the Jason Kelce era indeed end, coach Nick Sirianni has a successor lined up.
When Cam Jurgens was selected 51st overall out of Nebraska by the Eagles in 2022, the veteran center was elated, calling him "my favorite player in the draft" after having evaluated various college centers for the last few years.
After spending his rookie season as a backup, Jurgens joined Philadelphia's starting lineup in 2023 as a right guard, replacing Isaac Seumalo, who had left for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He missed six games with a foot injury.