What’s next for Eagles if Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox retire?

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles center Jason Kelce celebrated the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII win over the San Francisco 49ers as hard as one would expect.

Videos from the Chiefs afterparty at a Las Vegas nightclub on Sunday show Kelce front and center on the DJ stage, dancing in a red and gold Lucha Libre wrestling mask that complemented his Kansas City-themed jumpsuit. He completed an epic wingman tour that included jumping out of a suite shirtless in Buffalo (the first night he met Travis' girlfriend Taylor Swift) and partying with A-list celebrities in Vegas during preparing for the big match.

For at least one teammate, it provided further proof that Kelce's playing days are coming to an end.

“There's no shooting. You're telling me if he wears his jersey to the games, plays in the casinos, he'll come back? No way,” tackle Jordan Mailata told NBC Sports. “He's having too much fun. He's living his life. And I'm definitely going to miss him, man.

Kelce publicly left his football future open, although he signaled to teammates at the end of the season that he was considering retirement. The same can be said of his counterpart, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who amassed six Pro Bowls and 70 sacks during his 12 seasons in Philadelphia.

“Luckily he's just a phone call away, but it's just having him every day, his presence is huge, and we're definitely going to miss his presence,” defensive tackle Jordan Davis told about Cox. “Even looking at his locker, it's empty and I'm like, damn. Shit.”

With the season winding down and free agency approaching, Kelce and Cox will need to confirm their intentions so the Eagles can chart a course accordingly. If they both leave, the Eagles will lose not only high-level production — Kelce and Cox remained two of the team's best players last season at ages 36 and 33 — but also two locker room stalwarts.

Both spent their entire careers in Philadelphia. They have 25 years of NFL experience between them, playing in a total of 405 games. They represent half of the “core four” — a group of longtime Eagles veterans that also includes defensive end Brandon Graham and tackle Lane Johnson — who saw it all…and won it all during the 2017 campaign.

It is not clear who would fill the leadership void, or how effectively. Ideally, Jalen Hurts would continue his rise as the franchise's quarterback a year after signing a five-year, $255 million contract. Other players, like receiver DeVonta Smith and linebacker Nakobe Dean, are also candidates. But all three are 25 or younger and still fully establishing themselves.

And this change would come at a difficult time. The Eagles fell apart last season, finishing 1-6 after a 10-1 start. Coach Nick Sirianni's team has been revamped and he now finds himself in a showcase year. The defense has been terrible, the offense has underperformed and now both sides of the ball will be adjusting to new schemes, new coaches and, in some cases, new players.

There is a succession plan for Kelce and Cox on the field. Cam Jurgens was selected in the second round of the 2022 draft to be Kelce's heir apparent at center. Right after that selection was made, Kelce called Jurgens “my favorite player in the draft,” saying the Eagles had asked him to evaluate centers coming out of college over the past two or three years. Jurgens was the one who compared most favorably to him.

The Eagles, meanwhile, spent first-round picks on two Georgia interior defensive linemen, Davis and Jalen Carter, over the past two seasons. Cox took it upon himself to mentor both players.

“This will be Jordan's third year, JC's second. Normally young players make that jump between those two years. They're really, really good players, really smart,” Cox said. “I think the next step for them is just not [being] afraid of being big. These two boys have a chance to be really great and special in this league. »

Davis and Carter's play, however, lacked consistency, something that should change if Cox, the anchor of the defense, is removed. And no matter how good Jurgens becomes, it will be nearly impossible to reach the heights of Kelce, a six-time first-team All-Pro destined for the Hall of Fame.

Cox joked that “there's no timetable for greatness” when asked about his decision-making process on whether or not to retire. But that moment is almost here for him and Kelce.

For more than a decade, the Eagles had four of the best players in team history patrolling the field and protecting their culture. It's a luxury experience that few organizations get and could be coming to an end for Philadelphia.