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Jason Kelce Returning For Another Season

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Author Dylan MacKinnon and The Best Show Ever?
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 21: Jason Kelce #62 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts against the New York Giants during the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 21, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ever since the heartbreak of the Super Bowl loss, the next shoe we have been waiting to see drop is Jason Kelce’s plans for the future. For the past several off-seasons, he has mulled retirement. But every time he has come back and still played like the best Center in the league. And now we know he will be returning for at least one more season. Jason Kelce announced today that he is not quite done playing Football in a statement that in typical Kelce fashion, is NSFW.

Given how great he played last season, it is easy to understand why he chose to return. Kelce made his 5th All pro team in 12 seasons. Once again he went an entire season without giving up a sack. And all season we saw him, in vintage Kelce fashion, making blocks downfield. He is more than capable of coming back and making it 6 times he has been named a First-Team All-Pro.

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Kelce was never a hyped prospect, even coming out of High School. He received no D-1 Scholarships. Leading him to a difficult decision. Accept a scholarship to a D-2 school, or bet on himself and try to walk on at a D-1 University. He chose to bet on himself. But even that was difficult. He went to Cincinnati and didn’t really have a position. In high school, he played Running Back and Linebacker, but he was not really a fit at either position in College. But eventually, they decided on making him an offensive lineman.

In three years between playing guard and center, he made a couple All-Big 10 teams and got an honorable mention as an All-American. That was not enough to make him a highly-rated prospect going into the draft though. His small size for a center was a big knock on him, causing him to last all the way to the 6th round. Eagles fans will be forever thankful for that though. Because under Howard Mudd, and then later Jeff Stoutland he developed into one of the best centers of all time.

Jason Kelce has changed the way his position is played. More and more we see Centers that are smaller and get out and move downfield. Kelce’s handpicked replacement fits that mold too. He helped the Eagles find Cam Jurgens, who will eventually replace him at center. But for now, expect Jurgens to kick out to Right Guard to fill in for Isaac Seumalo who is likely to leave in free agency.

He is already set to go down as one of the most popular players in Eagles history. And now he gets a chance to add on to his Eagles legacy and Hall of Fame resume.

The Eagles Off-Season Needs on Offense

Welp, a great season ended in tragedy. This Eagles team looked elite all season. They were top 5 on both sides of the ball. And they were still in the game until the final moments. They came that close just to fall 3 points short. And now, we turn our eyes to the Off-Season. Bouncing back from losing in the Super Bowl can be tough. But not impossible. The Patriots came right back from losing to the Eagles to win it the next year. The Bengals lost to the Rams, and then made it to the AFC Championship game the next season. But making that return starts with having a great off-season. Let’s look at what the Eagles need to do, starting on the offense.

The Eagles are in a unique position of having nearly their entire offensive core locked up. Jalen Hurts, Devonta Smith, AJ Brown, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Lane Johnson, and Dallas Goedert are all returning for at least the next two years. The people who may be leaving are Isaac Seumalo, Miles Sanders, and Jason Kelce. Seumalo and Sanders are free agents who may be too pricey to hold onto. And Jason Kelce is of course mulling his retirement. Beyond those 3 though, they are in a great position to run back the offense that was 2nd in scoring and went toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

So what do the Eagles need to do to maintain having the elite offense they had this year? Let’s look at each position, and if they will need to improve it or address it in the offseason. What positions could the Eagles address in Free Agency or the Draft? Are there players at those positions that would make sense for them? Here are the Eagles’ off-season needs on the offensive side of the ball.

  • Quarterback

    Going into last season, we were a bit unsure if QB was a need. Jalen Hurts had promise, but his performance in the playoffs vs the Bucs, and his overall season, left a ton to be desired. Those questions are no longer present. Despite what Phil Simm’s Son says, Jalen Hurts is an elite QB. 

    Not just because of what he can do with his legs either. Though that is an electric part of his game. But also because of what he does with his arm and with his head. Few QBs are as good at avoiding mistakes as Hurts. And he is exceptionally good at reading defenses when running an RPO. But his arm impressed too. And he showed that off in the Super Bowl. He went toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes and he did not blink. Hurts is elite. There are no more questions going into next season about him. The Eagles will happily pay him, and he will be worth every cent. 

    So they do not need a starting QB. The backup QB is another matter. Gardner Minshew is a free agent, and they could do with an upgrade over him anyway. Don’t be overly surprised if later in the draft they take a flyer on a Qb on day 3 of the draft. Even as early as the 4th round. Howie has shown in the past he values drafting QBs, and if a guy projected to go on day 2 falls into the 4th round, I could see Howie jumping on him. The top guys are out of the question. But if a Hendon Hooker or a Max Duggan are there for the Eagles on Day 3, don’t rule out Howie picking them.  

  • Wide Receiver

    Here are the WRs the Eagles have under contract for next season already…

    • AJ Brown
    • Devonta Smith
    • Quez Watkins
    • Britain Covey

     

    Could the Eagles be interested in some WR depth, as in bringing back Zac Pascal or using a late pick on a WR? Of course. Will they take some flyers on WRs as undrafted free agents? Definitely. But WR is not a major need. They have Smith and Brown under contract together for at least two more seasons. The same goes for Goedert. They have more elite weapons in the passing game over the next two years than most teams will ever have. As far as needs go WR is way down the totem pole. 

    An upgrade in the slot over Quez would be nice. But given how great the Eagles’ passing game already is, that would be a luxury, not a need. Hurts has 3 elite weapons to throw to already. Having a mediocre slot Wr did not hurt them too much this year. And there are many larger needs than that. Maybe they could use an upgrade over Covey as a Return Man. And that may come in the form of another WR. But even if they do that, it would be a late day 3 pick or UDFA.

  • Running Back

    Running back, however, will absolutely be a need. The first bit of business will be deciding whether to bring back Miles Sanders or not. That seems unlikely. Even with a deep RB class in free agency, he is likely to be too costly for a team that needs to pay their QB and multiple important free agents on defense. Given the lack of value in paying an RB, their cap situation, and all the higher-priority free agents, paying Sanders feels like it would be a poor decision. Especially given how he was a non-factor in the Super Bowl. 

    They could give Kenny Gainwell the wheels as the main RB. He has come on very strong in the postseason. But there is nothing to suggest he could handle main RB duties yet. And that would still leave them with a need for backup RBs. It seems more likely they add another good RB and rotate through them. There may not be a main guy next year like they had this year with Miles Sanders. But instead, they will spread the carries more evenly over multiple guys. Which may be for the best anyway.

    Any of the big-name free agents at RB would be too costly like Miles Sanders. But there are many smaller-name guys, like Samaje Perine, Latavius Murray, and Damien Harris who may be more affordable, and would fit well as part of an RB rotation. They could also bring Boston Scott back once again who has shown he is a very dependable backup if you have a quality RB ahead of him. 

    But the draft will be the place to really watch them at RB. Using one of their first-round picks is incredibly unlikely unless Bijan Robinson is still there at the end of the first round. A day-two pick could very well be in the cards though. This draft is full of guys that should fall in that day 2 range. There is Auburn’s Tank Bigsby who is very LeSean McCoy esque and managed to put up big numbers behind a bad O-Line. Syracuse’s Sean Tucker provides explosive speed and surprising strength. And Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs could be the next Alvin Kamara. There are lots of names to like that could be there in the 2nd or even 3rd round.

    And if they wait until day 3, the Eagles have had success taking RBs late in the draft and getting production out of them. The truth is with this O-Line, lots of players can have success. Which is why investing too many assets into acquiring a great one may not be wise. We all love Sanders. But the drop off from him to whoever you replace him with would be smaller than the dropoff if you let Javon Hargrave or CJ Gardner-Johnson walk in Free Agency

  • Tight End

    Even though Matt Miller had the Eagles taking a TE for someone reason with their 2nd First-Round pick, there is zero chance the Eagles invest any significant resources at TE this offseason. They have Dallas Goedert under contract until 2026. He is pretty damn good. We saw him make multiple key First Down conversions in the Super Bowl, and that was a trend all season. He is explosive after the catch, has good hands, is a great blocker, and is dependable when needed most. They have him under contract for a few more years. 

    They haven’t used other Tight Ends to do much else besides block, which Jack Stoll is more than capable of. They also still have Grant Calcaterra. They may sign an undrafted free-agent Tight End, and maybe draft one if they really like a guy in the 6th or 7th round. But that is about it. They already have a top 5 TE, and they do not run very many two-TE sets. Anyone telling you the eagles will target a TE does not know what they are talking about. 

  • Offensive Tackle

    Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson will be back next year. So there is no immediate need at Left or Right Tackle. Jack Driscoll is back to be behind Lane at RT. But given that Isaac Seumalo is leaving he might be their starting RG. Andre Dillard is gone. Meaning they are a bit light at Tackle depth. So they could definitely stand to add someone to back up Johnson and Mailata. There is also Lane Johnson’s future to consider. He is under contract through 2025. But he is also going to turn 33. While Lane is still playing at an elite level, finding a project to develop behind Lane may not be the worst idea.  

    But whether it is depth or a developmental Tackle, neither need screams early picks or big money in free agency. In fact, I doubt they look towards free agency at all. Howie and Jeff Stoutland have proven time and time again they can find great O-Line talent late in the draft. Expect them to use at least one day 3 pick on a Tackle, and to bring in multiple guys as undrafted free agents. 

  • Offensive Guard

    Now at OG, there could be an immediate need. Obviously not on the left side where Landon Dickerson has turned into a star. But as aforementioned, Seumalo is a free agent to be. And it seems highly unlikely he returns. Driscoll could replace him. But they could also look toward the draft or free agency for their RG next season.  

    Free agency is the least likely of those two options. They could bring back someone like Nate Herbig who is familiar with the blocking scheme and is a free agent. But is Herbig a better option than Driscoll? if they are going to pay a free agent, it would have to be someone who represents an upgrade over Driscoll. And if they won’t pay Seumalo, it’s unlikely they pay someone else. 

    But we know Howie is more than willing to invest draft capital at any position along the line. They used a 2nd round pick two seasons in a row on interior linemen. Landon Dickerson in 2021, and Cam Jurgens last year. A guy with size and quickness like TCU’s Steve Avila seems like he would be right at home in Stoutland’s blocking scheme. They could also ask a guy like Wisconsin’s Joe Tippman to convert from Center to Guard. They value the O-Line over almost any other position on the field. So the interior Lineman is 100% in a position to watch on draft night. Maybe not at pick 10, but at pick 31 or with their day 2 picks, it would not be shocking at all. 

    There is also always the chance Jason Kelce doesn’t retire. In which case Cam Jurgens would play RG for a year. A lot of what they will do revolves around Kelce’s decision. But either way, the offensive line could always be a target for them early in the draft. 

  • Center

    We do not yet know what Jason Kelce will be doing. It feels like he will retire. But then again, he has mulled retirement for a while, and he keeps coming back anyway. Kelce is still the best center in the league, so he does not need to retire. But there is something to be said for going out still at the top of your game. Does he have another run left in him? He likely won’t take too long to decide. But whatever the case, they are squared away at center.  

    Kelce handpicked his replacement in Cam Jurgens. We did not see much of him this year. But what we did see was impressive. He is like a Jason Kelce clone but slightly bigger. With Stoutland coaching him up, and Kelce mentoring him all season, I have no dont he will play at a high level if called upon.  

    I suppose if Kelce retires they will need a backup center. But that can be found without any significant investments. Center is not a pressing need for them this offseason, whether Kelce retires or not. 

  • Eagles Fall Short to Chiefs in Super Bowl

    Eagles Fall Short To Chiefs In Super Bowl

 

 

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