Following the news of the blockbuster Ben Simmons-James Harden trade, John Clark caught up with Eagles center Jason Kelce to get his thoughts on the two and the Sixers’ chances of winning it all.
Jason Kelce, serving as a guest host on the WIP Morning Show, was not ready to make an announcement about his future on Wednesday morning.
But the Eagles legend made it clear that things are trending toward a return for a 12th season in 2022.
With three hours of guest hosting on tap, Kelce was asked about his future out of the gate by WIP’s Jon Johnson. It’s the most pressing question surrounding the Eagles right now as they begin their preparation for the 2022 season.
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SIGN UP HERE “Fair question. I’ll answer it like this. I’ve answered it like this in the past,” Kelce said. “I’m playing until I’m not. I’m an active player for the Philadelphia Eagles right now. I love my teammates, I love playing in the city. When it’s time to step away, I’ll make that abundantly clear.
“I don’t want to announce anything on the radio. I kind of feel like everything is trending in a certain direction but I’m going to make that clear to my teammates and coaches and everything like that first. I will not be announcing that today.”
For reference, Kelce announced his return on a one-year deal last year on March 5. So we ought to be getting pretty close to something of an official announcement pretty soon.
Before it’s official, though, Kelce and the Eagles will have to agree to a new contract. That shouldn’t be too difficult. This isn’t a situation where the Eagles should try to cut corners. Just pay the man and bring back your 34-year-old All-Pro center for one more season.
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It’s clear that the organization wants Kelce back for the 2022 season. Heck, Nick Sirianni even sent Kelce a keg of beer to help influence that decision.
If you’re wondering, yeah, that really happened.
“I’ve been meaning to like post something on social media. I’m terrible at that,” Kelce said. “It was one of the highlights of the offseason, actually, the highlight of the offseason. I forgot how much beer is in a keg of beer so it’s taken me some time to get it down.”
A little later in the morning on Wednesday, Sirianni actually called the show.
“He knows that the keg was delivered,” Sirianni said. “I actually got a picture of the keg at his house. He knows where we stand, he knows how important he is to this football team and he knows that we’re begging to get him back.”
And a little after that, Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland called the show and asked what he had to do to top Sirianni’s gift.
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Kelce said on Wednesday that he’s been having a lot of conversations with his wife Kylie about his future. He has two young children and he wants to make sure he can spend time with them. And he wants to make sure his body can go through the rigors of another NFL season. That’s where Sirianni’s influence is felt beyond a keg of beer. The first-year head coach really worked to keep his veteran players healthy in 2021 with shorter and lighter practices.
And the fact that the Eagles had a successful season in 2021 also helps. After an offseason of transition, the Eagles had a late-season run to get into the playoffs.
All the signs are pointing toward a return for Kelce in 2022, but he made sure everyone knows this isn’t an easy decision.
“You’re going to regret some part of it either way if you make that decision,” Kelce said. “If they tell you you’re done, it is what it is, you’re out the door. But that decision, there’s going to be some amount of regret either way. You’re going to regret not being in the locker room, with your teammates, going out on the field. And then if you come back, if something happens, why did I continue to do that? Try to not live a life of regret. Try to just enjoy the moment, enjoy the people around you.”