Report: Eagles Pondering Life without Kelce
PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - The Philadelphia Eagles are pondering whether to move on from veteran center Jason Kelce, according to PhillyVoice.
Kelce, 29, was originally selected in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft and quickly developed into a Pro Bowl-caliber center but his play has dipped dramatically over the past two seasons and the current Philadelphia brain trust is very high on Isaac Seumalo’s potential at the position so the tea leaves are there for a possible trade or release.
Known as perhaps the most athletic center in football, some scouts believe Kelce got too caught up with his movement skills under Chip Kelly and the opposition began to figure out if you put a big powerful defensive tackle right on his nose, you could often blow up the team’s running plays before they even started.
ProFootballFocus.com rated Kelce as just the 27th best center in the NFL this season and that number is really No. 28 because Minnesota veteran Joe Berger, a top-10 option, was moved to guard late in the season and rated there.
Despite that Kelce is the 10th highest-paid center in football and set to cost $6.2 million under the salary cap next season. Philadelphia would have $3.8 million if they moved on from the veteran.
-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen