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Eagles center Jason Kelce set to retire after 13 NFL seasons, per multiple reports
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- Eagles center Jason Kelce set to retire after 13 NFL seasons, per multiple reports
After 13 NFL seasons, all with the Philadelphia Eagles , All-Pro center Jason Kelce is ready to call it a career.
Kelce was visibly emotional on the sidelines as the Eagles' season ended with a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , and he declined to talk to the media afterward.
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But most everyone knew what was coming next.
According to multiple reports , Kelce told teammates in the locker room after the game that Monday night's game was his last as an NFL player.
Kelce, 36, had contemplated retirement before, but each time previously decided to come back in an effort to lead the Eagles to another Super Bowl.
Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce leaves the field after what turned out to be his final game in the NFL, a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card playoff game.
Kelce leaves quite a legacy behind in Philadelphia. And not just the seven Pro Bowls and six All-Pro selections. Or even the Super Bowl 52 title. He leaves the game as one of the most popular players in Eagles history and a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer.
"I love him," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said after the playoff loss . " … He's one of the most special guys I've been around."
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Quarterback Jalen Hurts called Kelce a "legend in the city, and really in this league."
A sixth-round draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati in 2011, Kelce started for the Eagles from Day 1 – eventually playing in 193 games over his 13 seasons.
He made his first Pro Bowl in 2014 and was named All-Pro in six of the past seven seasons.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eagles' Jason Kelce set to retire from NFL after 13 seasons
