Jason Kelce is retired from the NFL. He quite literally could not return to the Philadelphia Eagles if he wanted to in his current form.
The future Hall of Famer is too skinny!
Kelce officially hung up his cleats in March after 13 seasons with the Eagles. Philadelphia gave him indefinite access to the team in retirement and he has been in the facility almost every day of training camp, outside of a trip to Paris for the Olympics.
He may as well be an assistant coach at this point.
He just won’t go home, man. I’m kidding. It’s great to have him around. He’s obviously loved around this building by every single person. He’s always welcome out here with Kylie and his kids.
— Left guard Landon Dickerson
All of the time spent around his former teammates led to speculation about a possible return. Maybe Kelce wants to get back on the field. Maybe he has one more season in him.
He does not.
Kelce is joining the Monday Night Football crew on ESPN this fall and continues to host the ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother. A comeback is not in the cards. And it’s not even possible if it was.
After playing at a weight of 295 pounds last season, Kelce is slimmed down to 275. He already dropped 20 pounds and hopes to cut 15 more, to get down to his target goal of 260.
The 36-year-old was already considered “undersized” at his position. Kelce could not play any lighter.
They’re not going to call me to come back at 260 pounds.
— Jason Kelce
Cam Jurgens is going to take his spot. The 24-year-old was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft and spent the last two years learning from one of the greatest to ever do it.
In fact, Jason Kelce helped the Eagles in drafting his replacement and handpicked Jurgens as his successor.
I’m moving on to the next thing and I’m excited to watch Cam. I really think Cam is going to be tremendous this year. He’s going to really show people how great of a player he is. He was good for us last year at right guard and he’s going to flourish at center.
— Jason Kelce
Jason Kelce is done.
And for me personally, my days of playing are just done and I do not foresee any scenario taking place other than maybe medicine inventing a way to get rid of arthritis that I would ever entertain coming back at all anymore.
— Jason Kelce
Anybody who was holding out for a Kelce comeback will be disappointed. Even though he continues to hang around the team facility, his career is officially over.