Following his unexpected NFL retirement, Jason Kelce “handpicked” one person in secret to be his replacement with the Eagles

Jason Kelce’s retirement sent shockwaves around the NFL.

The legendary Eagles center officially hung up his jersey in March, making the announcement in a teary press conference in front of younger brother and podcast co-host, Travis.

press conferenceCredit: Getty

36-year-old Kelce left an indelible mark on the Eagles franchise and the city of Philadelphia as a whole.

He won Super Bowl LII, was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, and made first-team All-Pro six times.

Filling the void left by one of the greatest offensive lineman ever is no easy feat.

However, according to NFL Draft expert Matt Miller, the Eagles planned for this eventuality for some time with Kelce even ‘handpicking’ his own replacement.

“The great thing for Philly is they anticipated this really well,” Miller exclusively told talkSPORT.

“Two years ago they drafted Cam Jurgens from Nebraska. He played guard last year but he’s in waiting, he was like handpicked, so they’ll slide him over.”

It’s not a great center class this year, it’s really not,” Miller added, previewing the upcoming NFL Draft.

“But they (the Eagles) planned ahead for this. And one cool thing is they asked Jason for feedback, like, watch these centers, who do you think could replace you? Who in this class is basically you?

“And he picked Cam Jurgens out of Nebraska and that’s who they selected.”

2Kelce is enjoying the retired life and recently appeared at WrestleManiaCredit: X@WrestleOps

Jurgens attended the University of Nebraska and, in 2019, became the first freshman Cornhusker since 1972 to start 12 games at center.

The 24-year-old was part of Nebraska’s track and field team in shot put for two seasons but excelled at football and was named third-team All-Big Ten Conference in his third and final year in college.

Jurgens was drafted by the Eagles in the second round (51st overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft.

He has played 28 games in two NFL seasons and made 11 starts at right guard in 2023 but suffered a foot injury in Week 4 last season and was placed on injured reserve

Jurgens has huge shoes to fill in 2024 and will be responsible for snapping the ball to QB Jalen Hurts and orchestrating the Eagles ‘unstoppable’ Tush Push play.

Kelce, meanwhile, is currently enjoying his time away from the sport and recently made an incredible appearance at WrestleMania 40.

He also took his award-winning New Heights podcast on the road for a special live show and received his diploma from the University of Cincinnati.

Jason has a ton of options on the table for his next career move and is reportedly wanted by many of the major television networks for a broadcasting role next season.

ESPN, NBC, CBS and Amazon Prime all reportedly have interest in securing Kelce, with ESPN in particular seriously zeroing in on Jason to be a focus of the ‘Monday Night Football’ pregame ‘Countdown’ show.

Other reports suggest Kelce could join Amazon and take his podcast with him, while one superstar from another sport has said he is willing to train Jason into its next superstar.