Jason Kelce Said He Retired Because He Didn’t Want To Block Vita Vea Any Longer
September 20th, 2024
Future Hall of Fame center no longer wanted to tangle with this man.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce, who gave a speech for the ages when the Eagles won the Super Bowl in February 2018, may go down as one of the more popular athletes in Philadelphia.
And a guy Bucs defensive tackle Vita Vea ran out of football.
Kelce retired after the Bucs (and Vita Vea) ended the Eagles’ season back in January in a wild card game.
Appearing on the Ryen Russillo Podcast last weekend, Kelce confessed his body could no longer take the punishment dished out by the beastly Bucs defensive tackle.
Russillo asked Kelce if he could still block for the famous Philly Tush Push, a play that the Bucs and Vea stopped twice in Kelce’s final game.
“That was one [play] I was still executing at a high level,” Kelce said. “I think I can still go out there and still tush-push it. It would be miserable but I could still get that done.
“But what forced me into retirement was knees that no longer wanted to block guys like Vita Vea. Elbows that continually pop and get stuck in certain places.”
Sounds like Vea was a handful.
The stories of Vea’s strength and brute force are legendary. The guy is a monster. To think he beat down Kelce to the point he didn’t want to get back on a football field again, a guy who may be in the Hall of Fame someday, is yet another chapter in the Legend of Vea.
September 20th, 2024 at 12:34 am
I’m wondering if Vea dropping weight has hurt him this season. Anyone else thinking this?
September 20th, 2024 at 12:40 am
Makes you wonder.
September 20th, 2024 at 12:50 am
Never really thought about it but I am wondering. What are the Physics of blocking a guy Vea’s size/strength? What amount of PSI is exerted on 300 plus lb O Linemans knees and ankles when he pushes on a guy like Vea. It has to be getting up to crazy numbers and guys are just getting bigger.
Go Bucs!
September 20th, 2024 at 1:21 am
How much weight did Vea actually shed this offseason?
In any event, that had nothing to do with his current knee injury. A guy rolling up on your leg is gonna get you at any weight.
September 20th, 2024 at 1:35 am
Thank you Joe. I will be able to use this against a few buddies tomorrow.:)
September 20th, 2024 at 3:26 am
watching the games, I think dropping the weight has made Vita better. Glad he lost it for that knee injury or he might have been out for the season
September 20th, 2024 at 3:30 am
“Death by Vita Vea”
September 20th, 2024 at 4:51 am
Hearing Jason say this about Vita made me smile so much this morning. We watch Vita, but are not on the field being bruised by him. Good for Jason for making the hard decision to retire from playing. Kudos to Vita for playing hard!
I agree with other comments too. Additionally about Vita, losing the weight is a healthier outlook and probably better when you have a knee injury.
September 20th, 2024 at 6:09 am
Vita hasn’t lost a step losing the weight, and don’t blame his freak injury with Yaya following on him that somehow if he was fatter that he would have been better off, that’s absurd.
Go back and watch both the first 2 games, and the push Vita gets on that line. Absolute monster. Him losing weight is part of conditioning gentlemen, it’s playing more snaps than he has been in previous seasons without running out of gas.
You don’t need to be a heavy-set guy to play these positions, you need to be powerful and quick, and stamina for late into games to close it out. See Aaron Donald as a fantastic example.
September 20th, 2024 at 6:28 am
Nah losing weight was good for him and the Bucs. The injury was a fluke.
September 20th, 2024 at 7:29 am
Simeon4HOF Says: September 20th, 2024 at 3:30 am
“Death by Vita Vea”
——-
Nope! I’d jump out too! I would rather meet my demise with Death by Snu Snu anyday (or Everyday).
September 20th, 2024 at 7:52 am
Losing that weight makes VV healthier and more nimble. The injury is common to football, unfortunately. Get well, VV. Your backup bros on D will hold the fort until you get back. Go Bucs!!
September 20th, 2024 at 7:54 am
Lining up against vea used to feel like not wanting to get punched by Tyson that’s not the case anymore.
September 20th, 2024 at 9:16 am
Vita Vea is an exceptionally talented human. I love having a monster in the middle and teams definitely think “oh sh!t, I have to block this grizzly of a man”.
Get well, Vita, we miss you and I love watching you dominate NFL linemen. He’s such a force that has pass rush.
September 20th, 2024 at 9:42 am
The injury was friendly fire and has absolutely ZERO to do with losing weight.
Come on now, that’s a huge stretch.
September 20th, 2024 at 10:27 am
Only on a Bucs fan website would a quote like “But what forced me into retirement was knees that no longer wanted to block guys like Vita Vea” be interpreted as “Vita Vea ran Jason Kelce out of football”.
One does not equal the other. “Like Vita Vea” means all the monstrous DTs in the NFL, not just Vea.
September 20th, 2024 at 10:34 am
Great story. A good one to show those hating on Skule should maybe think twice. The line of scrimmage is a nasty place. You are a beast at your position to have made it to the NFL. The margin of separation between an NFL average player and an elite NFL player is rather small. To separate yourself into the elite is simply insanity. Take Lionel Messi. He’s going to make exceptional players look foolish. Roger Federer made exceptional players look foolish. MJ did the same thing. All these guys were blessed with freakish talent physically and mentally and they work very hard. Skule should have a better day Sunday.
September 20th, 2024 at 10:49 am
I wish Vita played more.
September 20th, 2024 at 12:18 pm
Is Vita Vea on track thus far in his career to be one day voted into the Hall of Fame??
September 20th, 2024 at 12:22 pm
All this talk, but why doesn’t he dominate more? When he returned in the 2020 playoffs, he made fools of the centers he was playing.
September 20th, 2024 at 1:00 pm
CleanHouse Says:
September 20th, 2024 at 12:34 am
I’m wondering if Vea dropping weight has hurt him this season. Anyone else thinking this?
^^^
It’s a very fair point. Sapp lost weight prior to one season and his play seemed to dip a bit. NT like Ngata needed the heft/boiler to hold up…including strength-wise.
September 20th, 2024 at 5:00 pm
ummm…seems waaay more popular nowadays that he’s linked to taylor swift…i don’t recall this guy getting major press back in the days at all…now he’s like a pop star