So Long, Legend

For the first time in 158 games, a new man will snap the ball for the Philadelphia Eagles offense when they take the field in the 2024 season.

Jason Kelce’s hall-of-fame career has reportedly come to an end, per ESPN.

Six-time All-Pro and future Hall-of-Fame center Jason Kelce told his Eagles’ teammates in Monday night’s postgame locker room that he is in fact retiring, per league sources.

The 36-year-old Kelce became visibly emotional at the end of the Eagles’ 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers. He… pic.twitter.com/GofAAlFtUd

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 16, 2024

GETTY IMAGES: Philadelphia Eagles Jason Kelce looks on during the final game of his future hall-of-fame career.

The writing was on the wall for the visibly emotional 36-year-old following the Eagles’ 32-9 Wild Card exit against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

Since the end of the 2018 season, it had become a yearly conversation of whether Kelce would retire with Philadelphia repeatedly adjusting his contract for this scenario and bringing in potential replacements early in the draft such as Landon Dickerson in 2021 and Cam Jurgens in 2022.

The day Eagles’ fans dreaded appeared closer than ever following the 2022 season and Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs, but he decided to return to make one final run at a second title, which had seemed like a more than obtainable goal following the team’s 10-1 start to the year.

Drafted in the sixth round out of Cincinnati in 2011, Kelce became a starter in his rookie year and the rest was history.

Though undersized compared to a typical center, it did not stop him from being an anchor for the middle of the offense and use his elite athleticism to lead an effective Eagles rushing attack. Kelce remained at the top of his game until the very end.

With six first-team All-Pro selections to his name, Kelce has his name tied with fellow legends Chuck Bednarik and Reggie White as the most All-Pro selections as a member of the team. He finishes second on the all-time Eagles games played list with 193, two games behind longtime teammate Brandon Graham and held the second longest active games played streak in the NFL.

Kelce will likely most be remembered as a key contributor in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win and making a speech heard around the world at the team’s Super Bowl parade that helped define the Philadelphia mindset.

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.