Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce called it quits in February after 13 incredible years.
And replacing him is not going to be easy, according to Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
Reid, who coached Kelce for two seasons in Philly, spoke to reporters at the NFL's annual league meetings where he admitted the obvious -- whoever is next in line at center is going to have a tough time filling Kelce's shoes.
"Not only was he a great player but he also had the leadership," Reid said, via 94 WIP's Howard Eskin. "He did it on the field, he also did it off the field, which was important. All those guys keeping everybody in line is a big thing. I'm sure they have other guys who can work in there.
"I haven't studied their roster enough, but the younger you are, the tougher it is. Although he seemed to do it when he came in. He kinda took over things right away."
Eagles' 2022 second-round pick out of Nebraska, Cam Jurgens, is on tap to take over Kelce's job as the team's new starting center.
Jurgens should be more than capable of stepping up in the trenches considering he was handpicked by Kelce and spent two seasons learning behind a future Hall of Famer.
Reid believes Kelce still had plenty of juice left in the tank but it was time for him to give his body a rest.
He ended his 13-year career in Philly as a seven-time Pro Bowler, a six-time All-Pro, and a Super Bowl Champion.
"Jason is a great leader — emotional player, brings that to the table, and has done so for a long time. 13 years? That's a long time. My hat goes off to him," Reid said. "He's going out on top as a player, an All-Pro player. Could he have played a couple more years? Probably. But that body, it's taken a lot of pounding. And he's got a nice little gig going now."
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