This Eagles player thinks there’s ‘no shot’ Jason Kelce will return in 2024 amid retirement rumors

Jason Kelce keeps refusing to confirm his rumored retirement following the 2023 NFL season, but at least one of his Philadelphia Eagles teammates is convinced the longtime center is done for good.

“There’s no shot,” left tackle Jordan Mailata recently told NBC Sports Philadelphia of a potential Kelce return. “You’re telling me he’s going shirts off in the games, gambling in the casinos, he’s coming back? No way. He’s having too much fun. He’s out there living his life. And I’m going to miss him for sure, man. This has been the greatest six years of my life for sure, being here in the NFL and getting to meet people like Jason Kelce.”

Mailata is referencing Kelce’s recent public appearances, in which the perennial Pro Bowler has gone viral for his support of brother Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs. Those stops include a shirtless celebration in a family suite at the Buffalo Bills’ stadium, plus a costumed trek to post-Super Bowl parties in Las Vegas, where Travis and the Chiefs just won their third title in five years.

Both Kelce brothers have downplayed the notion that the elder sibling is already decided about his NFL future, despite reports after the Eagles’ wild-card playoff loss that the veteran center was prepared to hang up the cleats. Travis even went so far as to predict his brother would be in uniform for the Eagles when Philadelphia travels to Brazil to open its 2024 season.

An actual decision should come soon. Kelce, who’s been a mainstay at the heart of the Eagles’ offensive line since the start of his 13-year NFL career back in 2011, is scheduled to become a free agent in March.