Before singing the national anthem prior to Monday night’s Sixers game, Jason Kelce admitted he was very nervous. His knees were even shaking during sound check.
He feels much more at home on a football field.
And on Monday night, before taking center stage at the Wells Fargo Center to show off his pipes, Kelce explained his decision to return to the Eagles for a 12th season.
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“The more I kind of stepped back from the game, the more it was really evident that I want to keep playing, that I’m not done yet,” Kelce said to reporters during a pregame press conference. “I feel really good with where the team’s at. We had a great second half of the season. Obviously, the playoff game was not ideal. But there’s a lot of good things happening in that building and it’s fun to go in there right now. I wanted to continue to be a part of getting it better.”
Kelce, 34, announced late last week that he was returning for the 2022 season. His new one-year contract with the Eagles is worth $14 million, making him the highest-paid center in the NFL.
Even though he’s been doing this a long time, Kelce is definitely still worth that money. In 2021, he was still arguably the best center in the NFL and was named to his fifth Pro Bowl and fourth All-Pro team.
How close was he to walking away?
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“I don’t know,” Kelce answered. “Probably about as close as I’ve been the last couple years, to be honest with you. The last couple years, I’ve thought it was going to be my last year. I really try to take the approach that you’re playing until you’re not. Just enjoy every moment.”
Kelce started all 17 games in 2021 and has started 122 consecutive regular season games, the longest streak in the NFL for a center since Chris Myers started 123 from 2007-14. And it’s also the fifth-longest streak in Eagles history.
In 2022, Kelce has a chance to climb his way to No. 2 on that list. But it would take a couple more years to topple Jon Runyan’s record of 144 straight games.
Don’t rule that out just yet. Because while he’s certainly dealt with plenty of injuries throughout his career, Kelce was able to stay relatively healthy in 2021. And that health definitely played a role in his return.
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What was the bigger reason for return: His health or how much fun he had playing in 2021?
“It’s both. I’m not going to lie,” Kelce said. “The health definitely factors in. The last couple years, I’ve been pretty lucky with injuries. I think pain in itself is depressing; it’s hard to fight through that. Even when it’s something minor it’s something that weighs on you. And the longer you play, the more you have something everyday you fight through. That’s certainly a part of it. I really think in some ways, obviously, my joints and everything are in worse condition but credit to some of the things we’ve got going on in that building. They’ve really found a way to get me feeling better than I’ve felt in a really long time.
“And then there’s no question that ending the season the way it did, the team is in a really good place right now. We feel really confident about next year and where things things headed. It was fun to go into work and be a part of that second half of that season. The way that playoff game finished, none of us are happy about that. We want to improve on that.”
On Monday night, Kelce sang the national anthem before the Sixers-Nuggets game as a payoff for Connor Barwin’s Make The World Better Foundation. The deal was if the foundation raised $100,000 by the end of 2021, Kelce would have to sing. Once folks heard that, they gave, and the foundation raised $114,000.
Take it away, Jason.