Jason Kelce, formerly one of Philadelphia Eagles’ most accomplished All-Pro centers, candidly shared his disappointment on the team’s unprecedented collapse in 2023 as he officially confirmed his retirement after a 13-season run.
“The one thing I’m disappointed about retiring right now is I’m retiring when the Eagles had potentially the biggest collapse in the history of the organization. Not potentially, probably the most,” Kelce said during the latest episode of his ‘New Heights’ podcast, which he hosts with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, released on Wednesday (March 6). “The reason I say that I’m upset about that is — I really truly think the Eagles are going to ball out next year.”
Jason Kelce says he only has one regret in his #NFL career, the #Eagles historic collapse this season:
“The one thing that I'm disappointed about retiring right now is that I'm retiring when the Eagles had the biggest collapse in the history of the organization.” pic.twitter.com/J4rBfF3cYz
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 7, 2024
The Eagles, who had a fantastic 10-1 start to the season, saw their inspiring run flipped upside down as they faced a string of losses in the final seven regular season games.
Being eliminated from the playoffs in a landslide defeat by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the NFC Wild Card round only added salt to the wound.
“There’s still a tremendous amount of talent there,” Kelce added. “They’ve hired two really good coaches that are going to be able to offer a new perspective and look at things with a fresh lens.
“I think Jalen Hurts is a tremendous quarterback, I know it wasn’t a good end of the year for him or for anybody on offense, but there’s still so many pieces.”
With this unfortunate turn of events, Kelce’s retirement came as a partial surprise to fans. The player, known for his grit and perseverance, officially brought an end to his celebrated 13-year long career with the Eagles.
The Ohio native will be remembered as one of the franchise’s greatest players, with a stunning record of playing in all 193 games of his 13-year NFL tenure.
His longevity in the game led to an impressive list of achievements. Not only did he help secure the team’s lone Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl LII, he was also selected as a first-team All-Pro six times (2017-19, 2021-23) and Pro Bowler seven times (2014, 2016, 2019-23).
Post-retirement, Kelce has stated he plans to remain engaged within the Eagles organization.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen for me. But I do know, I still want to be involved in the organization and still want to be a part of it, regardless of what the decision is. Because I don’t want to ever feel like I’m on the outside looking in on these achievements and these accolades and these opportunities that largely represent entire cities and fan bases and organizations. It’s too good a feeling to pass up,” Kelce said.
He admitted that despite the rumors surrounding his retirement, he never had a formal announcement at that time, mainly due to the emotional turmoil following the unexpected outcome of the season-ending.
“I didn’t announce what I was doing on purpose, despite, I guess, what’s been leaked to the media,” he said “… I just don’t think you’re in a position after a game like that to really make that decision, I just don’t, there’s too much emotion in the moment, there’s too much going down in the moment to really fully grasp that decision.”
“When it’s time to officially announce what’s happening in the future, it’ll be done in a way that’s definitive and pays respect to a lot of people and individuals that have meant a lot to me and what has led to the career I’ve had, and I don’t think it would be respectful or even accurate to be able to do that right after a game like that,” he added. “Frustrated, I guess, at everything that’s happening, but in the future there will be something said, I guess, but I did address the team and pretty much said the same thing I just said to you, which is I got belief in every single one of you guys, cherish the moments you have in this league, I think it’s kind of the way it went down.”
