Eagles legend Jason Kelce discusses his current feelings about retirement

The 2022-2023 Philadelphia Eagles have given us reason to cheer and be proud, and on Sunday, February 12th, they may close the deal by rewarding us with a second Vince Lombardi Trophy. Just let that sink in for a second. Some have asked if this is the greatest team ever assembled in franchise history. It’s an intriguing argument, but at the risk of reigning on a few parades, as fun as it’s been, Super Bowl LVII will be the final time we see the current roster together as currently assembled. A ton of roster decisions have to be made, and then, there are the questions about Jason Kelce.

A future Hall of Famer, Kelce has talked a lot about his mortality recently, and it begs the question. Might he call it a career after next Sunday’s game? Winning football’s biggest game could provide him with all of the ammunition he needs to ride off into the sunset.

Jason Kelce hangs out with the media and addresses the retirement question.

Three Eagles legends were made available for the Philly media on Friday: Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson, and Jason Kelce. Once Number 62 sat down, it wasn’t long before he was asked about ‘you know what’, and you could have heard a pin drop while he was answering the question.

On the subject of retirement, Jason Kelce had this to say.

"From everybody I’ve been told about when you know it’s time to retire or not, you just know when you know and it’s going to be when you don’t want to play football anymore. I don’t think that winning this game is going to determine whether I want to play football or not. I remember talking to (Jeff Stoutland) maybe two years ago, I was like, ‘I don’t know when that time’s going to come or how I’m going to know when to stop,’ and he’s like, ‘You’ll know.’ He was like, ‘You won’t want to do it anymore.’ I was like, ‘I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.’ He’s like, ‘No, it will happen. Trust me, it will happen."

Stout and Jason are very close. The latter also built a bond with another former Eagles offensive line coach, Howard Mudd. Jason said the following about Mudd.

"Howard Mudd, before he passed, gave me the advice, ‘When in doubt, don’t.’ He said you can use that for anything, not just retirement. I don’t know when that’s going to happen. Obviously, I contemplate it every offseason at this point. I’m just going to appreciate the next week and a half with the guys in this room and all of the coaches and hopefully put together another special game for the season."

As fun as it’s been to watch this team play, we have all discussed, for quite some time, that the roster won’t stay intact as currently constructed. Jason, unlike some of the other impending free agents, has earned the right to call it a career on his terms. If he wants to be an Eagle, he will be.

Might the coming Super Bowl be his final ride in an Eagles jersey? Fingers are crossed that it isn’t even though, every time we hear him speak, we’re looking and listening for clues to see what his thoughts are. As of right now, though it may seem like he’d be able to if he made an attempt, the truth is he won’t play forever. It will be a sad day when he hangs the cleats up for good, but his place in Philly sports lore and NFL history has long been assured.