Jason Kelce’s absence is already being felt by his teammates. With retirement in full swing, he has been living life large. From prancing around at the Eras tour to making it to the Cannes Lion Awards, he’s been living it up in Europe. However, his teammates back in Philly are missing what Europe got in abundance this offseason: his “aura and presence.”
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While the former Eagles center is enjoying himself, his former teammate, defensive tackle Lane Johnson spoke about the absence the team has started feeling. Talking with Rich Eisen, he also gave a little bit of advice he would give to Kelce’s latest replacement on center. He said,
“Definitely going to miss him. It is different not having him in the room his aura, his presence you know. We’re going to miss the games but a lot of it is you know the stuff that happens in the locker room in the meeting room and that’s what we’re going to miss most.”
It’s not just the field where his teammates are missing Jason’s absence, but also off it, in the locker room and such. And it’s valid, considering he spent his entire 13-year-long career in the Eagles locker room. With the kind of nature and seniority he held, Johnson says, Kelce pushed the team to get better and practice harder.
However, Johnson revealed that “While he has indeed retired from the Eagles, he still frequents the locker room and the practice facilities.”
Johnson expressed optimism that the former center would come forward to offer his unique insights for the team’s upcoming game plans. Although Kelce’s absence will be felt, the Eagles have transitioned to Cam Jurgens as his replacement at center, for whom the defensive tackle had some pearls of wisdom.
Johnson’s Golden Words For New Center
While Kelce will be missed on the gridiron the show must go on. And with the Eagles moving forward with Jurgens, Johnson had some advice for him and it was two-fold. Firstly, Johnson advised Jurgens to be his own person. Emphasizing that no one can truly fill the shoes left behind by Jason Kelce, he encouraged the third-year player to establish his own identity as a player and as an individual right from the start.
At the same time, he urged Jurgens to learn from Kelce’s experience and wisdom, blending his own style with the invaluable lessons he learned from Kelce.
That’s solid advice and it seems Jurgens has already caught on as he said “I’m not trying to be somebody’s replacement or somebody’s next person. I’m just trying to be myself,” when asked about stepping into his predecessor’s shoes.
Now that there is a Kelce-shaped hole in the Eagles’ offense, the team will definitely miss a lot of things about him on the field. There’s a lot Jurgens has to catch up on but thankfully the Eagles have all the faith in him, as they feel he has a very high IQ and is capable of handling the job.
