Look what we made him do! On January 16, the NFL and ESPN dropped a bomb when they both reported that Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce told teammates he planned to retire.
The purported revelation came after the Eagles’ excruciating 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, swiftly knocking the team out of the playoffs. When pressed for a locker room interview following the devastating loss, a visibly defeated Jason rebuffed the media’s attempts with a direct, “No guys, not today.”
Meanwhile, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni remained suspiciously mum as well. “He’s special, and I love him … He’s one of the most special guys I’ve been around,” Sirianni later told reporters during a post-game interview as he seemingly tap-danced around questions regarding Kelce’s future pigskin plans.
Alas, it appears Jason was none too pleased with the swirling retirement rumors and subsequent reporting (baby, now we got bad blood), and he took to his popular “New Heights” podcast with his brother and fellow NFL player, Travis Kelce, to break his silence. Here’s what the pro footballer had to say regarding his supposed retirement.
During the January 17 episode of “New Heights,” Jason Kelce let it all hang out regarding the rampant retirement rumors encircling his professional football career. “I didn’t announce what I was doing on purpose,” Kelce explained. “I just don’t think you’re in a position after a game like that to really, you know, make that decision.” Still, he admitted that his body language might have conveyed otherwise, and it was possible that some might have picked up on that.
However, the star football center was careful to note that when and if the time came for him to hang up his helmet and cleats, he had zero intentions of dragging it out for added drama or attention. According to Jason, it would be “done in a way that’s definitive and pays respect to a lot of people … individuals that have meant a lot to me and what has led to the career I’ve had.”
And as for the team’s devastating loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he minced no words. “We just couldn’t really execute. Frustrating, really, really frustrating,” he said. “It’s a rough way to finish her out this year.” But speaking of frustration…
As evidenced by the Kelce brothers’ “New Heights” podcast episode, it appears Jason Kelce might have a little bone to pick with the powers that be who were responsible for what he referred to as “leaking” the so-called retirement revelation to the media. Later, during the candid podcast conversation with his brother, Travis Kelce, Jason also confessed to being “frustrated, I guess, at kind of everything that’s happening.” Ruh-roh.
Still, Jason wanted to make it clear in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want anyone’s pity. Referring to some outside opinions of possibly ending his career on the heels of such a big loss, he quipped back, “Don’t feel sorry for me, motherf***ers,” he trailed off as he started to choke back tears. “Either way, I truly appreciated everybody in that room, and I’d go to war with them any day of the week. Enjoy the time you got,” he declared.
So what’s exactly in store for the eldest Kelce brother? As for now, it’s simply TBD. But as his famous younger brother Travis noted, “We’ll all be at the edge of our f***ing seat seeing what decision you make, big guy.” Alexa, play “Is It Over Now” by Taylor Swift.
