Jason Kelce wins hearts with surprise appearance at Sea Isle City's autism walk - "It makes you proud”
Jason Kelce does not know whether he should retire but is enjoying himself in the meantime.
The Philadelphia Eagles center was spotted at the Polar Bear Run/Walk for Autism, a marathon event held by Mike's Seafood, a restaurant in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, on Saturday.
According to owner Mike Monichetti (who has two autistic sons), while his family are regular customers, Kelce's appearance was impromptu:
“They don’t want those special preference. They’ll stay in that line and take pictures, shake hands, sign autographs. They’re just down-to-earth, genuine people.
"It makes you proud that you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan. They’re just special, special people.”
The restaurant has even urged Kelce not to retire:
Jason Kelce receives career advice from former Eagles teammates amidst retirement rumors
As the Jason Kelce saga remains unresolved despite initial reports that he had retired after the Eagles's Wild Card loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, two of his teammates have offered their insights on how retirement looks like.
On Wednesday, former defensive linemen Chris Long and Beau Allen, who won Super Bowl LII with Jason Kelce on the other side of the ball, offered some interesting post-playing advice for the center on the New Heights podcast.
Allen noted that it could be boring, so the emergent podcasts feature retired players like him:
"It is different, a little boring. You don't have the intensity of football, and that's something that has been a little bit of an adjustment.
"That's why I love doing the pod(cast) with Chris. It's just an excuse to hang out with your boys and talk about football. That's what you miss the most."
For Long, retirement from football represents part of a transition in life that can occasionally get ugly:
"We're just different. For all our shortcomings and ways that all our wives and significant others get annoyed at us, but we just have really specific mindsets.
"So it is the locker room but also the absence of my kind of guy. I also think it's a huge existential crisis. Whether you think you're ready or not, your life changes."
The full video of the episode can be seen below. The segment with Allen and Long begins at 20:06: