Only one thing is stopping Jason Kelce from returning to the NFL.
The 36-year-old former Philadelphia Eagles center, who announced his retirement from football back in March, now says it would take a medical miracle for him to unretire.
“For me personally, my days of playing are just done and I do not foresee any scenario taking place other than maybe medicine inventing a way to get rid of arthritis that I would ever entertain coming back at all anymore,” Kelce told the Associated Press in an interview published on Tuesday.
Shortly after his retirement announcement, Kelce told his brother and podcast co-host, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis, on an episode of New Heights that his body told him it was time to call it quits.
“I just don’t think physically I can compete at the level that I want to anymore,” he said. “My elbow and my knees, it’s just gotten to the point where the deterioration and the recovery from that deterioration hasn’t really manifested on game day yet, but I know it’s gonna start doing that. … I’m hard on myself, and if I go out there and I’m not the player that I want to be, it will crush me. So I feel very confident in the decision I’ve made. I know it’s time. I’ve had a really good run, but that’s the biggest reason why.”
At the time, Kelce also shared that he was looking forward to getting “skinny” and hoped to reach his goal weight through simple calorie counting rather than an extreme diet regimen.
In his interview with AP, the six-time All-Pro honoree revealed he is already down from his playing weight of 295 pounds to 275 and aims to get to 260.
“They’re not going to call me to come back and play center at 260 pounds, and I’m moving on to the next thing,” he told the outlet, noting that he’s “excited” to watch his replacement, Cam Jurgens, on the field.
“I really think Cam is going to be tremendous this year. He’s going to really show people how great of a player he is,” Kelce said. “He was good for us last year at right guard and he’s going to flourish at center.”
Back in April, Kelce discussed his weight loss goals on New Heights with guest Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“I’m in the process right now, I’m retired. I played my whole career 295. I’m trying to get down to 250, 260,” Kelce explained at the time. “My goal is two pounds every week, lose it. I want to lose it, but maintain my muscle mass. I’m trying to monitor my protein, my carbs, my fats, make sure that I’m hitting at least one pound per body weight.”
While Kelce has hung up his pads and is giving his body a break, he’s officially joined ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown broadcast team. Earlier this month, he made his ESPN debut in style for a special NFL Countdown broadcast, fresh off his trip to Paris to attend the 2024 Olympics with wife Kylie Kelce.
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