PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jason Kelce was on the run for the offseason drumsstamping beersfend off retirement and get knocked out podcasts with his tight NFL brother.
From elite center for the Philadelphia Eagles to center of attention Sea Isle town Unpleasant Saturday night liveKelce has enjoyed the man-of-the-people accents that landed him on the shortlist of Philadelphia’s most beloved athletes.
Ever.
Heck, Kelce endeared himself even more to the people when a “cheap shot” (his words) caused a fight this week during a joint practice between the Eagles and the Indianapolis Colts. Kelce said he was merely defending a teammate he thought was the victim of a hard tackle when he tied Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin, a hit that sparked fistfights between the teams and broke up practice.
My mistake, Kelce said.
“Tensions got the better of us,” Kelce said. “We try to keep it civil on the field. I let my emotions get the better of me. That certainly doesn’t belong there on the field. I’m a bit ashamed that it has reached that level.”
But sticking up for a teammate in the middle of training camp ahead of his thirteenth season is just one reason why Kelce has connected with Eagles fans in such an almost mythical way that few players, like Brian Dawkins or Reggie White , have ever done. reaches.
There’s no telling how many training camps 35-year-old Kelce has left – coach Nick Sirianni once supplemented Kelce’s knowledge by sending a keg of beer to the centre’s home to entice him to return in 2022 – and it seems that neither money nor Super Bowls are necessarily the deciding factor if he wants to keep playing. Does he feel healthy? Does he enjoy the game? Does he have anything left in the tank?
What is still to be achieved?
Not much at this rate for the burly center.
Kelce has been a member of the Associated Press All-Pro team five times, been named to the Pro Bowl six times and, of course, was a pivotal member of the 2017 Super Bowl championship season. Kelce and former Pittsburgh Steelers Dermontti Dawson and Mike Webster are the only centers since the 1970 merger that have earned five All-Pro nods. Dawson and Webster are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Those Steelers are never on one though SNL sketch as Kelce did in March and threatened to beat up that night’s host in a skit – the host, in this case Travis Kelce. The Chiefs’ tight end got the better of big brother in last season’s Super Bowl, though the relationship has skyrocketed on their popular “New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce” podcast. They’ve had guests from Rob Gronkowski to Charles Barkley on the usually light-hearted show, though the brothers shed tears on a podcast where they their mother discusseda fixture in the postseason as she watched her sons play for the Lombardi Trophy.
“I enjoy just living my life and doing what gives me joy and pleasure,” said Kelce at the Eagles camp. “It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve connected with my brother more than I ever have during my tenure here in the NFL. It’s been able to revive that brotherhood in some ways, aside from losing them in the Superbowl.” It was a pretty good year for us.’
Maybe the brothers will talk about the fight club in the next episode.
Like Jason, Travis Kelce publicly apologized for his role in the training camp fights he began earlier this month.
Kelce Boys becomes Kelce Boys.
“I’m not trying to be a personality,” said Kelce. “I’m just trying to be Jason Kelce.”
There’s a serious side to the Christmas album crooning and Mummer cosplay, Naturally. All those videos of him drinking on the beach surfaced because it was part of a fundraiser for the Eagles Autism Foundation. And when the Eagles drafted Jalen Carter in the first round this year, Kelce was the first veteran to reach out and welcome him to Philly.
“He made it fun for me by just explaining what Philly is all about, that it’s just family here, everyone is going to take care of you, and you’re going to have some fun while you’re on business playing football,” says Carter. said.
Kelce enters the season with 139 straight games, the second-longest active streak in the NFL and second-longest in franchise history behind Jon Runyan (144, 2000-2008). He’s had some familiar faces along the way winning matches with him. Kelce, Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham are the only remnants of former coach Andy Reid’s final season with the Eagles in 2012. Lane Johnson rounds out the four veteran anchors and was a rookie in former coach Chip Kelly’s first season in 2013.
‘The Core Four. Is that all the old boys,’ Kelce asked with a laugh. “We have played a lot of football together. We know each other very well. We have been through many battles. It is rare that many boys play together for more than ten years.”
Will Kelce try for another season? Chances are he’ll let everyone know through a podcast… …or on a documentary …or playing a bartender…or in a magazine story…or…certainly something in the unconventional way that has defined his Philly persona.
