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Eagles' Jason Kelce Fakes NFL Retirement, Jokes He's Done with Arm Wrestling

Adam Wells

April Fools' Day was two weeks ago, but that didn't stop Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce from trolling fans with a fake retirement announcement on Thursday.  

Kelce wrote on Instagram that he has "decided to RETIRE... from arm wrestling" before stating that he would be back with the Eagles in 2020:

Kelce, 32, has hinted in recent years that retirement is something he's seriously considered. 

After Philadelphia's playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints in January 2019, Kelce told reporters about his perspective on playing and taking things on a "season-by-season" basis:

"This is a game where I am getting older, and I think that for the last three years, realistically, I've tried to stay in the moment and stay in the season. And at the end of the year, you reassess and reevaluate. I certainly have not made any decisions or anything like that. It's the same situation as last year and the year before that. ... Reality is, it's a hard game physically, and the older you get, the competitor in you, the player in you obviously wants to keep playing and keep going, and through the rigors of the season, my family and friends are taking the brunt of all the positives and negatives going on. So I can't really stress that I haven't made a decision to retire at all."

The Eagles added one year to Kelce's deal prior to last season, keeping him under contract through 2021. He has a team-friendly salary with cap hits of $7.4 million in 2020 and $8.4 million in 2021. 

Kelce has been a staple of the Eagles offensive line since being a sixth-round draft pick in 2011. The Cincinnati alum has started all 126 games he's played, including 89 straight dating back to Week 9 in 2014. He has been named to the All-Pro first team in each of the past three seasons.

   

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