Jason Kelce reveals key factor in decision to return to Eagles

Jason Kelce shared with Rich Eisen why he decided to come back to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Although Jason Kelce could have retired this offseason, he still loves playing football and will be back with the Philadelphia Eagles at least for one more season.

Kelce lost to his younger brother Travis’ team in Super Bowl 57. While the Eagles had an incredible season, the Kansas City Chiefs raised a championship banner for the second time in four years. When asked by Rich Eisen on Friday if losing the Super Bowl to the Chiefs played a factor in Kelce coming back for yet another season, he did not disagree with that notion, but offered even more.

“I do think it played a factor. I don’t think it should. I wish it didn’t. But I do think that when you go that far and get that close and it doesn’t happen, I think your emotions and energy get going, and you want to do that. You know it’s close, and you know the team is gonna be good next year as long as everybody stays healthy. We’re returning a lot of pieces on offense. So, yeah, that all plays a factor. If it was a different situation, I don’t know what the answer would be. I still think I would play.”

Here is a clip of Kelce’s conversation with Eisen about the aftermath of Super Bowl 57 and his decision to return to the Eagles for one more season.

Kelce is absolutely right that the Eagles should have a great team, but they could also suffer from the dreaded Super Bowl hangover…

Jason Kelce says Super Bowl 57 loss factored in his Philadelphia Eagles return

From Kelce’s conversation with Eisen, one thing stands out in particular: He really loves playing football. Kelce says he has been blessed with pretty good health in his career, which has afforded him to play well into a second decade. No matter what happens going forward, Kelce and his brother will end up enshrined together in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s not if, but rather when.

With it being a year-to-year proposition for him, Kelce will supposedly keep playing for the Eagles until he decides he know longer wants to play football at its highest level. He still seems to love the mental legwork and the preparation it takes to be successful in the league. However, there will come a day when Kelce’s love for playing the game will dissipate. This happens to all NFL players.

I don’t anticipate Kelce will play for anybody else. At this stage of the game, why would he even want to? With him being firmly in his mid-30s, I think this will be the last year he plays professionally. The fact the Eagles are losing both of their star coordinators will probably play a part in Philadelphia pulling back a bit this season. They will suffer a bit of a Super Bowl hangover.

Whenever The Kelces call it a career, they will successfully pivot into the national media landscape.