Future first-ballot Hall of Famer Jason Kelce was a pro’s pro to the end

Jason Kelce was a pro’s pro and the definition of a center to his very last NFL snap. Canton will come calling in exactly five years.

There are those players whose retirements predicate discussions as to whether they are future Hall of Famers.

Jason Kelce is not one of those players. If the longtime Philadelphia Eagles center, who will retire after 13 years in the trenches, isn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer, someone needs to do something about the voting process. The 36-year-old Kelce finishes his NFL career with seven Pro Bowl nods, six First-Team All-Pro selections, a Super Bowl ring, and a place as one of the greatest athletic centers of all time.

Even in his final game, Philly’s 32-9 wild-card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night, Kelce was stoning defenders to all levels of the field as he had for eons.

Has there been a center in Kelce’s era who has played as well or better at a consistent rate? Not hardly. Has there been a center in the new millenium who has played as well or better at a consistent rate? Not really. There’s a legitimate argument to be made that Kelce is a top-five center in the Super Bowl era, and those who would present five better names had better come with all kinds of homework.

In his final season, including that playoff loss, Kelce allowed two sacks, one quarterback hit, and 11 quarterback hurries in 697 pass-blocking reps. And as we’ve seen, he was equally adept in blowing people up in the run game.

Moreover, Kelce was a leader, an unerring standard-bearer, and the kind of intelligent goofball who endears himself to a city and to a franchise once and forever.

You had a feeling it was over near the end of that Bucs loss, when Kelce spent a few important and emotional moments with longtime line coach Jeff Stoutland.

Still, it’s jarring when an all-time great leaves the game under any circumstances, and that’s what we’re facing here.