Kelce earns NFL Man of the Year nomination
Four Pro Bowl and three firstteam All-Pro team honors are a source of pride for Eagles center Jason Kelce, who resides in Haverford.
Kelce’s nomination Tuesday for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award completes the rest of the down the road Pro Football Hall of Fame resume for the 34-year-old veteran, who has been active in community autism programs, including the Eagles Autism Foundation (EAF).
The Walter Payton Award each year recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service and excellence on the field.
Three Eagles have won the award: Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Harold Carmichael in 1980, cornerback Troy Vincent in 2002 and defensive end Chris Long in 2018.
“To be named the Eagles’ Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year is an incredible honor,” Kelce said in a release furnished by the team. “I’ve been blessed to come to work every day for the past 11 years doing what I love for a team and city that means the world to me. The Eagles organization is family and this city is home. It’s a humbling experience to be recognized alongside men around the league who are making a difference in their communities.”
Kelce is on track to make his fifth Pro Bowl, including the third in a row. The Eagles’ offensive line has emerged as one of the most dominating units in the league largely because of the Kelce touch. When he’s out of the lineup there is instant drop off. That hasn’t happened often as Kelce has made 118 straight regular season starts, tops among active pivots.
In the community Kelce, his wife Kylie and his family, who have a personal tie to the cause, have been active in several EAF events, including the annual Eagles Autism Challenge. In August, Kelce and Kylie hosted an EAF fundraiser at the Ocean Drive in Sea Isle City, N.J. Kelce matched the $50,000 he helped raise as a celebrity bartender to send more than $100,000 to benefit autism research and programming.
Kelce has appeared at Kylie’s autism support classroom to connect with the students, is involved with the Eagles’ Huddle Up for Autism event with his family and the Eagles Sensory Room at Lincoln Financial Field, among other ventures. “Story Time with Jason Kelce” and “Play a Round of Golf with Jason Kelce” have helped raise $20,000 for the cause.
Kelce has advocated for the Eagles Charitable Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Bringing Hope Home and Liberty USO.
” I think that’s a tremendous honor to be nominated for that prestigious award,” Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said. “That’s one of the biggest awards, I think, in all of sports. Tremendous honor, hat’s off to him for what he does for this league.”
Each NFL team nominates a player for the Walter Payton award. The panel of judges who choose the winner includes NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the previous year’s winner, in this case Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, and select former players.
The winner of the annual award receives a $250,000 check donated to their charity of choice. All the nominees receive up to $40,000 donated to their charity
of choice. Donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation and Nationwide.
Kelce’s brother Travis was the Kansas City Chiefs’ Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee in 2020.
Information on how fans can vote on Twitter to add to the charitable contribution u.sing #WPMOYChallenge followed by the nominee’s last name or his Twitter handle through Jan. 17 is available at https://www.nfl.com/honors/man-of-the-year/.
••• Steichen has input into the game plan Sunday for Gardner Minshew, who lit up the New York Jets to lead the Eagles to a 33-18 triumph entering the bye week.
While fanboys and critics took sides on who should be the team’s starting quarterback, Minshew or the injured Jalen Hurts, whose streak of 16 straight NFL starts
ended over the weekend there is no denying that the late comer ran the offense flawlessly. The Eagles scored on their first seven possessions, something Minshew can put atop his resume.
” I thought he played a heck of a game,” Steichen said. “He was efficient getting the ball out of his hands, getting completions and moving the chains. I think that’s a tribute to his preparation that he puts in every week and also the guys. It was a team win.”
Steichen was unable to stop there. The plays the Eagles drew up for Minshew worked with the exception of a triple reverse he spiked incomplete. Miles Sanders rushed for 124 yards, Dallas Goedert caught six passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
“Offensive line blocked their tails off,” Steichen added. “So, it was a complete effort by everyone in getting it going.”
• • • Finally, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon still is getting to know his personnel, the unit getting beat for touchdowns on the Jets’ first three possessions Sunday.
The mistakes Gannon can work through. The attitude of the players on the other hand has been exactly what he hoped for since taking the post with the Eagles.
“No. 1 is the defense, and No. 2 is you,” is what Gannon drills into his players. “I told them, as long as you follow that order with how you appproach your job, how you handle yourself, how you conduct yourself, as long as you have that order the correct way, we’ll be OK and you can play here. As far as where the defense is, you’re never a finished product. You’re always trying to improve. That’s what the head coach talks about, that’s what we talk about with our guys.”