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Former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce said the team's historic collapse in 2023 was "the one thing" that "disappointed" him about retiring earlier this week.
“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.”
The Eagles, who were defeated by Travis' Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII prior to the 2023 season, went 10-1 before losing six of their last seven regular season games, which included being eliminated from the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a blowout loss during the NFC Wild Card round.
“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.”
Kelce officially announced his retirement after 13 seasons with the Eagles on Monday. The Ohio native is one of the most celebrated players in franchise history, starting at center in all 193 games of his 13-year NFL career, including the franchise's lone Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl LII, while being selected as a first-team All-Pro six times (2017-19, 2021-23) and Pro Bowler seven times (2014, 2016, 2019-23).
In January, Kelce, spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer's Olivia Reiner while attending the Chiefs' AFC Championship Game in support of his brother and acknowledged that he still hadn't decided on retirement but plans to continue being "involved" in 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.
Jason had previously addressed reports that he plans to retire during an episode of 'New Heights', clarifying that he did address his teammates after the Eagles' Wild Card Round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but hadn't yet made an official decision on his future.
“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.”