(Photo: Sports Illustrated)
Offensive Linemen are football players too. I can’t stress this enough. When I first started playing, my coaches put me on the Offensive Line as a Left Tackle and I loved every second of it. You created lanes for guys out the backfield and you kept your Quarterback on his feet, or tried to. Before the Quarterback can distribute the ball to open receivers, he must get the ball from the Center. Many will argue that the most important relationship a Quarterback will have is with his Center before his receivers and I can’t necessarily say that’s wrong. The importance of the position has increased due to the re-emergence of the 3-4 defense. Travis Kelce wasn’t the only one from his family in the NFL. His brother, Jason also made a name for himself in the league. As many expected, Jason called it a career and announced his retirement after 13 seasons in the NFL, all with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jason is one of the greatest Centers I’ve had the privilege of watching. I understand many football players may attempt to watch and study film on other guys at their position just to see what they can take from someone else’s game to add to theirs, but that was often a challenge with Jason because there were certain things he’d do that others simply couldn’t. I’ve often been a fan of football players who played with mean streaks and that was Jason Kelce to a T. He had no problem getting his jersey dirty, making those key blocks, and turning every play into a dog fight which I always admired. Jason always did the little things so consistently which made him great and was widely regarded as the best at playing his position. Jason stood at 6’3 and weighed 295 pounds. No man at that weight should be moving as quickly as he did. He was smooth on his feet and could fly after he snapped the ball. Jason would get out there and hustle, but what truly impressed me was how he was able to keep up with a Running Back and you didn’t see that very often. An underrated aspect of Jason’s game was the athleticism. He played with great footwork and knew how to counter his blockers. What always stood out to me was how dominant he was in the screen game. The ball would be thrown on a screen pass, but Jason would first disguise himself and when his teammate had the ball, then he’s pancaking people down the field. He always prided himself on doing the dirty work in the trenches and he had the speed of a Tight End as an Offensive Lineman. Jason could pull, open lanes in the trenches and he would simply overpower guys off the snap of the ball. He would play with great technique and got to that second level quite often. He was special.
Jason played with so much grit and determination. The Eagles drafted him in 2011 in the sixth round of the NFL Draft and from there, the rest is history. I often called him the heart and soul of this franchise. The fans loved him and he loved the fans right back. It was a hand-and-glove fit for a player and city. He retires as a seven-time Pro Bowler, a six-time First-Team All-Pro, and most importantly, a Super Bowl champion. Jason also has the most consecutive starts in franchise history with 156. What a career and he will be bound for Canton five years from now. Congratulations Jason on an incredible and legendary career.
