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The Philadelphia Eagles will have a big void to fill when All-Pro center Jason Kelce leaves the franchise in the offseason this year. After the harrowing defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card game on Monday, Kelce reportedly told his teammates about his plans to retire.
Kelce will undoubtedly miss football but is happy to leave behind one thing that frustrated him the most — Tush Push. While the Eagles’ version of a quarterback sneak has helped the offense in short-yard situations, Kelce particularly was not a huge fan of the popular play.
Fox Sports’ Laura Okmin spoke to Kelce after the shocking defeat in Tampa where the Eagles center revealed he would shout “F**k my life!” upon snapping the football and pushing forward. Quarterback Jalen Hurts confirmed it too.
When deployed, Kelce would often find himself lying at the bottom of the pile as the center plays a vital role in executing a controversial yet effective move.
Tush Push Effect: Eagles’ ‘Brotherly Shove’ didn’t pan out as anticipated vs Buccaneers
Despite being capable of gaining massive chunks of yardage and putting up points with ease, the Eagles have had a satisfactory success rate with the Tush Push to avoid giving away possession.
Against the Buccaneers on Monday, the Eagles were offered the chance for a 2-point attempt following an offsides penalty by the Tampa defense after Hurts found Dallas Goedert for a 5-yard touchdown. Head coach Nick Sirianni called for the Tush Push as the center lined up for the Tush Push with the rest of the offense only to come up short, leaving the Eagles with nothing but more frustration before halftime.
The Buccaneers ran away with the lead and didn't look back. The Eagles looked knackered as Kelce and co. couldn't figure a way out to put up points on the scoreboard. The Super Bowl-winning center was in tears, soaking in everything he's offered to the franchise and the sport.
With the rumored retirement, Kelce won't have to worry about the snap or enduring the Tush Push again. Interestingly, he even gave the green light to ban the move with issues over player safety looming large.
“Listen, ban it. I really, at this point, I don’t care,” he said during the Dec. 6 episode of his “New Heights” podcast that he hosts with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis. “I’m over the discussion about it. We were really good at running the quarterback sneak before we did the push,” he said.
“I don’t think that it’s a necessary part for it. It certainly helps, there’s no question about it. I don’t have the energy to care about whether it gets banned or not. We’re going to run it right now because we’re good at it and it’s effective. And whatever they do next season, we’ll figure out a way to do something at a high level and make it effective.”
The center's playing time may be over, but his podcast career is still up and running. In the latest episode, he revealed that an official announcement on his NFL career will be delayed 'on purpose' as he takes the time to reflect and recuperate from a topsy-turvy 2023 NFL season.
