Adrian Fedkiw
It was reported by Jimmy Kempski on Tuesday that the Philadelphia Eagles could be “moving on” from center Jason Kelce, but should they?
The 29-year-old Kelce, who is under contract through the 2020 season, has a cap hit of $6.2 million in 2017 and the Eagles could save $3.8 million by cutting him.
Kelce struggled during his first half of the season, but played better as it went along. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson played to his center’s strengths, using his nimble frame to pull and block along the boundary a lot more over the second half of the year.
At his chore, however, Pederson wants to play power football and push people backwards. He might’ve played up to what Kelce does best, but it’s not what Pederson envisions his offense to be. Kelce gained weight last offseason just to get up to 290 pounds. When Pederson was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City, 305-pound Mitch Morse was the center. Rookie third-round pick Isaac Seumalo is also 300-plus.
The Eagles have a lot of holes to fill, especially pertaining to wide receiver and cornerback. If they’re also serious about potentially bringing Jason Peters back, a Kelce release could be seen as a way to free up some cash. They just spent the most money in the NFL last offseason, they’re cash-strapped at the moment.
Kelce is a lovable guy with a great attitude, but his play has been inconsistent and if he’s not necessarily a fit for the offense anyway, I think he’ll be playing somewhere else next season.