After Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce told teammates after the Eagles’ abrupt exit from the NFC playoffs that he was retiring from football, his quarterback of four years, Jalen Hurts, paid tribute to the 13-year veteran.
“He’s a legend in the city — really in the league,” Hurts told reporters after the Eagles lost 32-9 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card round on January 15. “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, and every year since I’ve been here, it’s been, ‘Are you going to come back?’
“He’s a legend… He’ll forever have a special place in my heart.”
– Jalen Hurts on the love he has for Jason Kelce
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Kelce, 36, had contemplated retirement a year ago but wound up playing his final season on a one-year contract.
“[H]e knows how much I love and appreciate him,” Hurts said. “He knows how much I’ve learned from him. He’ll forever have a special place in my heart.”
Six-time All-Pro and future Hall-of-Fame center Jason Kelce told his Eagles’ teammates in Monday night’s postgame locker room that he is in fact retiring, per league sources.
The 36-year-old Kelce became visibly emotional at the end of the Eagles’ 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers. He…
Jason Kelce Was Visibly Emotional Following the Eagles’ Loss
As the clock wound down with the game’s outcome no longer in doubt, a visibly emotional Kelce was shown several times on the sidelines during the ABC/ESPN broadcast.
Once the game — Kelce’s 205th career game, all of them starts — officially ended, he took his time leaving the field at Raymond James Stadium and shook hands with fans of both the Eagles and the Bucs before finally making his way to the locker room.
An emotional Jason Kelce finds his family in the stands postgame 💚
Kelce Retires as One of the Greatest Centers in NFL History
Selected in the sixth round (191st overall) of the 2011 NFL draft out of Cincinnati, Kelce spent his entire 13-year career in Philadelphia, a career that will undoubtedly be recognized with induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A seven-time Pro Bowler, Kelce was also just the fifth center in NFL history to notch at least six All-Pro selections, joining Jim Otto, Bulldog Turner, Dermontti Dawson and Jim Ringo, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame.
One of the greatest players and men our game has ever seen:
– 13 seasons with the @Eagles
– Super Bowl LII Champion
– 7x Pro Bowls
– 6x First-team All-Pro
Congrats on an incredible career, @JasonKelce. 👏
Fellow Eagles lineman Lane Johnson, who says Kelce had “hinted” that the 2023 campaign would be his last, called his longtime teammate the best ever to play his position.
“I love him. He’s one of the best to ever play the game,” Johnson said. “The things he can do on the football field athletically — I don’t think we’ll see another one like him for a long time.”
NBC Sports Philadelphia listed Kelce among the 10 best centers to ever play in the NFL.
“He only got better with age, leading the Eagles’ seemingly unstoppable ‘Brotherly Shove’ quarterback sneak in his final years after winning a Super Bowl in 2017,” Logan Reardon wrote in a story published January 16.
Kelce was one of the key components in helping the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances in the last seven seasons, defeating the New England Patriots following the 2017 campaign and losing to brother Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs a year ago.
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Jalen Hurts Speaks Out on Jason Kelce Retirement