One of solely three facilities because the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to be named a first-team All-Pro 5 occasions, Kelce is on the prime of his sport, as 2022 confirmed. According to Pro Football Focus, Kelce produced the second-highest pass-blocking grade (82.0) of any middle within the league, was one among two facilities to not enable a single quarterback sack or quarterback hit, and had the second-highest run-blocking grade (89.4) per PFF. He has began 139 consecutive video games, the second-longest streak in Eagles historical past to Jon Runyan’s 144 video games from 2000-08.
Philadelphia’s offense soared to New Heights (pun supposed, the identify of the excellent podcast from Kelce and his brother, Travis) because the Eagles scored a single-season franchise document of 477 factors and set Eagles marks in third-down effectivity (45.9 conversion share) and crimson zone landing effectivity (67.8 %). The Eagles scored 32 speeding touchdowns within the 2022 season, tied for third-most in NFL historical past.
Kelce’s contract was resulting from expire at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, when he would turn into an unrestricted free agent, however, similar to final yr, the Eagles made certain he would keep in Philadelphia. Kelce has indicated many occasions that he has no need to play with one other staff, and the Eagles, as Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman has reiterated, need to maintain as a lot of their finest gamers as they’ll.
Kelce is definitely one of many staff’s – and the NFL’s – finest gamers.
His return ensures nice continuity up entrance for the Eagles, as left sort out Jordan Mailata, Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson, and proper sort out Lane Johnson are beneath contract for 2023. Right guard Isaac Seumalo is ready to turn into an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
There have been indications all through 2022 that Kelce deliberate to play in 2023, however the phrase wasn’t “official” till Monday’s tweet.
“I really feel actually good and I’m having a whole lot of enjoyable with these guys and this staff,” Kelce stated in the course of the Super Bowl week. “I’m targeted on proper now, nevertheless it’s been an ideal season for us. We have an ideal group of fellows and our coaches know me and I do know them. It’s all labored nice for us all through this season.
“They all the time say that you’ll know when it is time to retire, so we’ll see. Right now, I’m not interested by that.”
And he nonetheless is not interested by that. Kelce will return for a thirteenth season with the Eagles and the offensive line and the offense and the locker room and the staff basically simply grew to become, made official from social media, that a lot better within the span of 168 characters.
