Jason Kelce’s retirement from the Eagles leaves several questions

Jason Kelce on Monday announced his retirement. It was 40 minutes of appreciation and humility and thanks and joy and sadness.

What it was not was informative.

Kelce didn’t take questions. In fact, he offered no glimpse into why, exactly, he was stepping away from the game while still at his peak. He’s the best center on a playoff team that won 11 games and could win even more next season, especially if he’d remained. So, why leave?

He addressed the main reason Wednesday on his New Heights podcast:

“I just don’t think, physically, I can compete at the level that I want to anymore. And, really, compete the way I want to. My elbow, my knees ... it’s just gotten to the point where the deterioration and the recovery from that deterioration ... It hasn’t really manifested on game day yet, but I know it’s going to start doing that. If I go out there and I’m not the player I want to be, it’ll crush me.”

After 13 seasons and several injuries, you can’t blame a 36-year-old All-Pro at the height of his popularity for quitting while he’s so far ahead.

“I know that it’s time. I’ve had a really good run. That’s the biggest reason why.”

Note, he didn’t say, “That’s the only reason why.”

» READ MORE: Jason Kelce’s retirement speech, annotated and explained

I’ve known Jason for more than a decade. It was me whom he told, in 2016, that he was playing poorly, when even his favorite coach, Jeff Stoutland, wouldn’t acknowledge it. It was me whom he told in November that revving back up every Wednesday was getting harder and harder.

As such, I think I know him pretty well. He didn’t say why he was retiring, and he didn’t take questions, so here are my guesses about his thought processes.

Some seem simple. Some are surmises. Some he might never admit to, or even realize himself. But, for whatever it’s worth, in order of importance …

The Birds lost six of their last seven games, and they weren’t competitive against the three teams that wound up making the playoffs. I have a hard time believing that, if the Eagles finished 13-4 and won a playoff game, Kelce would have quit.

If the Eagles hadn’t fired their two defensive coordinators and their offensive coordinator. If they didn’t have to rebuild half of their defense. The 2024 season will be a full reboot — a new offensive scheme with a young quarterback in Jalen Hurts and a new defensive scheme for a unit that might lose all its leaders — and rebooting seldom goes well in the NFL right away.

On the day Kelce retired, Zack Wheeler, who will be 34 this season, signed a three-year contract extension with the Phillies that will expire when he’s 37. He declined the chance to add years, he said, because he wants to spend more time with his family while his children are young. Kelce is a devoted husband and father. OK, this is a no-brainer.

The podcast consistently ranks among the top five sports pods in America. He airs it with his brother Travis, a tight end who is the Chiefs’ second-most famous player, behind Patrick Mahomes. Travis dates Taylor Swift, who is the most famous entertainer on the planet, and yes, Jason catches shine from her, too.

As a well-spoken center, Kelce has the tools to be an elite color analyst. He attended a broadcast boot camp in May and met a horde of TV execs during Super Bowl week last month. He has made over $81 million on the field. Given the exorbitant salaries of the top talking heads — Tony Romo reportedly makes $17 million a year with CBS, and TV rookie Tom Brady will begin a 10-year, $375 million deal this season — Kelce stands to make more in the booth than he did on the turf.

“There’s some opportunities now, and that’s great,” Kelce said on the podcast. “I’m incredibly excited about what could happen.”

He should be.

The Jason Kelce brand will never be hotter.

» READ MORE: Breaking down the Eagles’ priorities among their 20 pending free agents: Who’s most likely to return?

Kelce is part of a generation of players well-educated on the dangers of long-term brain injury. When he can’t remember a specific play, date, or name, he often jokes about the “CTE kicking in.” He has addressed the matter more seriously. Kelce was a strong, agile, gifted player, but it’s his mind that has made him a Hall of Fame shoo-in. Leaving early better protects it.

Since Malcolm Jenkins’ departure four years ago, Kelce has been the locker-room spokesman for everything. It’s been a hell of a four years. He’s addressed coaching changes, quarterback changes, mental health issues, conduct issues — you name it, he had a thoughtful take on it. As the Eagles’ season collapsed, the locker room issues became more and more toxic.

Would a more cohesive culture have enticed Kelce into one more year?

Again, these are all questions. Not answers. Not revelations. Nothing here has been addressed by anyone. They are good questions, and relevant questions, but just questions all the same.

Jason Kelce has answered every question on every topic for a decade. He owes us no more answers.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have questions.