Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Kelce puts trust in NFL decision-makers
No one loves a crowd more than Jason Kelce.
The veteran Eagles center unfurled his epic “We’re from Philly, we don’t care” speech before 700,000 at the Super Bowl LII championship parade.
On game days Kelce plays before 70,000 at the Linc. The Delaware County resident is naturally attracted to people.
Kelce won the unofficial Delco arm-wrestling championship in February with a crowd looking on at the Brick & Brew gastropub in Havertown, the video going viral. His greatest challenge is on the horizon. With a wife and an infant daughter to provide for, the 10-year veteran must keep them and himself safe in a locker room that normally is jammed with teammates and media, without contracting the coronavirus.
Kelce hasn’t totally thought that one through. Just talking about it on a conference call Thursday was uncomfortable for a guy who has spent his life in crowded locker rooms.
“I’ll feel comfortable no matter what the NFL decides to do, to be honest with you,” Kelce said. “Because I believe at the end of the day if the NFL is allowing 90 guys in the locker room, it’s going to be in a safe and controlled environment. I don’t think this is going to happen unless that is doable. I don’t think we’ll be back at work next to each other and I don’t think we’ll be back at work playing and doing games and stuff like that unless the NFL is fully confident that it can be done in a safe manner.”
At this point, blind faith is better than no faith. Just the thought of the league deeming a locker room safe with 90 guys shoehorned in is laughable in this unfunny COVID-19 pandemic. Kelce mentioned the possibility of players being tested before they were allowed in the building.
There’s been talk the NFL will play games this season in stadiums with no spectators or limited spectators. Its 32 teams are bracing for red ink like they haven’t seen since the 2011 lockout.
Kelce, 32, remembers the football end of the lockout. He’s just about seen it or done it all in a career that began after that 2011 labor war.
The sixth-round pick out Cincinnati was thrown into the fire as a rookie by then offensive line coach Howard Mudd.
There was little time to think, much less marvel at the high-profile talent then team president Joe Banner had compiled during training camp. You remember the Dream Team: Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Ronnie Brown, Cullen Jenkins,
Evan Mathis, Steve Smith and Vince Young.
There was no offseason save for training camp, and for rookies and free agents trying to get on the same page, it was chaotic.
Nonetheless, Kelce won the starting center job and nine years later, is an annual addition to Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams. Asking new players to rally together without an offseason due to the coronavirus is every bit as challenging, although virtual positing meetings – the norm now – are better than nothing.
“It’s really hard,” Kelce said. “I had the playbook two days before we started training camp, I think. In some respects, it’s similar to the lockout year but obviously this is magnified because gyms have been closed, guys have struggled to find places to work out. There’s no doubt it’s going to be a struggle for the young guys and for rookies and even free agents. We’ll see how it goes.”
Kelce was much more authoritative talking about the offensive line. He’s heard the whispers that 38-year-old veteran Jason Peters could be back at left tackle. While Kelce would welcome the return of Peters, a free agent these days, he’s confident that Andre Dillard could step in and get the job done.
In Kelce’s opinion, organized team activities and minicamps aren’t the places to get better physically, meaning Dillard won’t be hurt in that respect. There was no mention of the rumors about Dillard being shopped before and during the NFL Draft.
What Kelce didn’t address was the age of the Eagles’ offensive line. If Peters returns, left guard Isaac Seumalo will be the only player under 30. Right guard Brandon Brooks will be 31 before the season. Right tackle Lane Johnson just turned 30. Kelce hinted that Seumalo projects as one of the keys to the line this season, an indication Dillard is going to get another opportunity.
“Not only are we not worried about him,” Kelce said of Seumalo, “we’re going to be leaning on him to be the unbelievable player that he is. I think a heck of a lot about Isaac Seumalo. I think he’s one of the least-respected guys on the line in the media and whatnot.”
Kelce’s streak of 89 straight regular season starts tops all active NFL centers. He’s also played in 89 straight games, trailing only Packers kicker Mason Crosby (208) among active players.
The critical number right now for Kelce is 90, as in the body count in the locker room when the Eagles get together.