Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce announced his retirement on Monday, ending an illustrious 13-year run with the franchise.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie released a statement on Kelce afterward and waxed about the man who will likely be in the Hall of Fame down the line.
“Today is a bittersweet day, because while it is hard to imagine the Eagles taking the field without Jason Kelce in uniform, we are also excited to celebrate his career and support him as his journey continues,” Lurie said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “Although Jason is retiring from the NFL, I have no doubt that he will continue to be successful in everything he does, and his impact on our organization and this city will reverberate for many years to come.”
Kelce, who played his collegiate football at the University of Cincinnati, was selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
The 36-year-old was kind of a late bloomer, as he made just one Pro Bowl over his first five seasons.
Then, in 2016, Kelce made the first of eight straight Pro Bowl appearances, also earning six First-Team All-Pro selections along the way.
Most importantly, Kelce played a major role in helping the Eagles win their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history during the 2017-18 campaign.
Widely regarded as one of the best centers to ever play the game, Kelce became an ironman for Philadelphia over the first eight years of his career, as he played in every contest from 2016 through 2023.
Kelce’s retirement does not come as much of a surprise, as many expected the superstar offensive lineman to call it quits following Philly’s Wild Card Round playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past January.
The Eagles are certainly going to have a hard time filling Jason Kelce’s shoes, both as a player and as a leader.
More must-reads: