Jason Kelce, who hinted at possible retirement to his teammates after the Eagle’s early exit from the playoffs, finally pulled the switch and announced his retirement. Praises and congratulations came from everyone for finally hanging up his boots after a long Hall of Fame career.
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“Jason Kelce didn’t revolutionize the position from an on-field standpoint but he did off the field”
There are only 5 centres who have been named first-team All-Pro 6 times or more. @JasonKelce is now 1. The other 4 are already in the Hall of Fame. In 5 years I fully expect… pic.twitter.com/NlzAAkTcUz
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) March 6, 2024
How Jason Kelce Humbled Ryan Clark
While advocating for Jason’s induction into the Hall of Fame, Ryan Clark shared a revealing anecdote from his playing days involving the Eagles center. During an episode of his Pivot podcast, Clark recounted an encounter with Kelce in 2014 when he was playing for the Redskins. In the clash, it was Kelce who emerged victorious, as he forcefully pushed the Super Bowl-winning safety to the ground.
Clark, took a dramatic fall, anticipating that if he made the most of the contact, he would get the decision in his favor, which is what happened as the referee threw a flag on the play. He asserted that push and that moment made him ponder early retirement. He said,
” I had a play and this is where I knew I was about to retire. I didn’t know who Jason Kelce was. This was my last year in Washington and they threw a screen. I was trying to catch the screen but I knew I wasn’t going to catch him. But you want to show your team you giving effort. But the problem was Jason was as fast as me at that point in my career. So he didn’t chase me down, so my brain kicked in. I was about to be embarrassed, so what I did was I slowed down like they did in Basketball and I let him hit me in the back and I flopped. They called the whole thing back. “
As a fan of both I had to track down the encounter. #GoBirds pic.twitter.com/qYkhsA78AG
— oG (@serialnumber01) March 7, 2024
Jason Kelce’s story is that of an underdog. Despite being doubted for his small stature and being forced to play out of position, he still excelled. His journey illustrates that one can achieve anything through dogged determination, hard work, and dedication. The key is to seize the opportunity when it arises. In this competitive environment, there are no shortcuts to success. Regardless of whether he makes it to the Hall of Fame, he has already established a Kelce legacy in the league.
