With their loss on Monday, January 15, the Philadelphia Eagles were knocked out of the 2024 NFL Playoffs, leaving Eagles players devastated and utterly disappointed. However, one key player on the team was leaving the field in tears. The next day, Jason Kelce was reported to have announced his retirement after 13 seasons played in the NFL.

Now if you are unaware of who key offensive lineman Jason Kelce is, he was the 191st overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Selected by the Philadelphia Eagles, this is where he was to stay for the next 13 seasons. Jason Kelce has arguably been the greatest player of all time to have played at the center position on the offensive line. His “smaller” size led him to be drafted later and after such a long and incredible career he has proven that size may not matter. Being 6’3 and 295 lbs, he was the center for the Cincinnati Bearcats during his college career, alongside his star tight end brother for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now what exactly is so important about his retirement? Not only will the Philadelphia Eagles lose a key player in their offensive line, but they will now have to find somebody new to fill in the position. That will be impossible to recreate what Jason has done. To be a center and not allow a singular sack since week ten of the 2021 NFL season is downright incredible. Jason will be remembered not only as one of the best centers to have graced the league but also as one of the greatest offensive linemen ever.

Jason Kelce has many incredible achievements throughout his career as well. Not only did this man have six all-pro honors, which is tied alongside Jim Otto, Clyde Douglas Turner, Dermotti Dawson, and Jim Ringo with being the only centers to have achieved more than six all-pro honors; all four of those centers are currently in the Hall of Fame. But he also has seven pro bowls. But what is easily the best achievement that Jason Kelce has is that he was named one of the sexiest men of the year alongside Timothée Chalamet, Jamie Foxx, and Usher.

So the question still stands and it stands quite strong: Is Jason Kelce the greatest center to have ever played in the NFL? I believe the answer is yes, and honestly, it shouldn’t be a debate. He has arguably had the best career when it comes to accolades, but just the fact that he was drafted incredibly late in the 2011 draft and had the most starts in Philadelphia Eagles history is amazing, especially to perform so incredibly well for all the years he has played. And I believe that even if he didn’t retire, he would still be a top-five center in the league for maybe an extra four years.