Jason Kelce might be done with the Eagles, but not with the NFL
After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated the Eagles in the chaos that was wildcard weekend, legendary Eagles centre Jason Kelce left the field in tears, implying he was retiring. Kelce has good reasons to make this his final season - three young daughters at home - but there's a good chance that Kelce will stay in the NFL for at least another year. Here are three reasons why:
1.
Kelce is still an elite player, teammate and character, and - if he chooses not to retire - would continue to be a huge asset to any team. Kelce earned first team all-pro honours from the NFL at the age of 36, showing that even at his age, he is still the league's best centre. He has the stats to back that up. Kelce ranks seventh in snaps in the NFL, with 1108 total snaps. He has only committed six penalties all season, ranking him ninth, even among lineman with less total snaps. If that still isn't impressive enough, Kelce has only allowed one - yes, ONE - sack all season, including in the playoffs. Those stats rounded up make him the best lineman in football and he's not likely to regress if he sticks around.
2.
Retiring now would be leaving money on the table. Not that he needs it: Kelce has an estimated net worth of over eighty million dollars. With Kelce entering free-agency this season, there will undoubtedly be a handful of teams who would be willing to pay a pretty penny to have Kelce for a season. Another five million or more is no little money for any individual, and if Kelce wants to grow his wealth, all he has to do is play another season.
3.
Kelce may just need a change of scenery. Kelce has been in Philadelphia since 2011- a long time to stay in one place, especially in a city like Philly. There are many teams in beautiful cities in need of a solid centre, and this change of locale could be a win-win for Kelce and the right team alike.
We'll be watching closely in the coming weeks, to see what Kelce decides to do but we won't shocked if he decides to stick around the NFL for another year or two. We look forward to seeing more of Kelce chugging beers and partying over the coming years, as we saw him do shirtless behind Taylor Swift during the Bills/Chiefs divisional round playoff thriller.
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