Enormously popular Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce just finished his 11th season with the team. The center played at a high level, earning Pro Bowl and AP All-Pro honors for his 2021 performance.
Though he’s under contract for 2022 at a $5.9 million salary, Kelce isn’t certain whether he’ll return or not. But he knows that his Eagles teammates and coaches want him back for one more season.
Kelce was the mystery guest host on WIP’s morning show Wednesday and got a couple of surprise calls from head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
“If Jason is the host of the show, I’d be willing to come on three times a week instead of my one time a week that I’m required to do right now,” said Sirianni, calling in as “Nick from South Philly.” “But we’re not ready to give him up quite yet, OK?
Stoutland called in shortly thereafter, though couldn’t sneak his identity past producers. But like his head coach, his objective was to convince Kelce to come back for one more season.
“I heard Nick sent a keg of beer to Jason’s house,” said Stoutland. “What do I got to do to top that to get you to come back? Unfortunately, I said it that way because he is going to have me run up Broad Street naked or something crazy like that.”
Kelce’s coaches calling in made a fun morning even more entertaining. It’s always nice to hear coaches show some personality, rather than just talk about the game or practices. It’s also refreshing to hear coaches speak so highly of a player and show that they share a good rapport.
So if anyone is seen running on Broad Street naked in the near-future, Kelce might be the reason why. But at least that will make it clear that he’s coming back to the Eagles for one more season, rather than maybe going into radio at WIP.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
