Jason Kelce understood the risks of announcing his retirement prior to the start of the new league year. Now he's suffering from severe FOMO as his former Philadelphia Eagles get cooking this offseason.
Welcome to "Howie season," as Kelce called it on the New Heights podcast with brother Travis, which is where Eagles general manager Howie Roseman often pulls rabbits out of hats and keeps their team building toward another championship.
Howie's most recent haymaker: signing former Giants running back Saquon Barkley. And before you ask, no, Jason Kelce isn't planning on rescinding his retirement plans with Barkley on board.
"Now, social media has been nonstop saying, 'Jason, are you sure you want to retire?' " Kelce said this week on the latest episode. "Yeah, I'm pretty positive."
Then he raised his voice for extra comedic effect.
"Even though a little bit upset Howie waited until I retired to make a move like this, but you know it's fine. It'll work out great," Kelce said.
But really, Kelce seems to love the move for his former team. He even managed to squeeze in what could be taken as a little shade to the rival Giants, Barkley's former team, even if Kelce warned not to take it that way.
"Huge, huge signing for Philadelphia, and I'm happy for Saquon," Kelce said. "I'm not trying to talk trash … you're coming to a team that has had a legitimate offensive line established for a very long time."
But there's still a little ambivalence for the professional podcaster. Kelce knows that Barkley could elevate the Eagles, who were arguably the NFL's best team last season when they entered December at 10-1 before collapsing. The closer we get to August, the more Kelce's FOMO might be kicking in -- even if he's steadfast in his retirement plans now.
"I could not be more bullish," he said. "We talked about it last week: This is what I'm regretting. I knew when I retired that I was going to miss just an outstanding season for the Philadelphia Eagles. It sucks, it really does. I wanna be a part of this so bad. I wish I could.
"But it doesn't suck in the way that, hey, I'm a Philadelphian, I get to watch it and celebrate it just like everybody else. So I'm excited for that."
