Jason Kelce isn't at minicamp for Jason Kelce. He's at minicamp for everybody else.
Kelce doesn't need this. He's a two-time all-pro, a two-time Pro Bowler, at the top of his game going into his ninth NFL season.
He's also a champion, and he has the mentality of a champion.
That means not always thinking of himself first.
And that's why he's here.
As you get older, obviously for your own personal development this isn't that necessary, but for me though, being the quarterback, being the center, positions where you're involved making the calls, very much involved in the cohesion of things, it's not just important for me to get better as a player, but I think just like being a good dad or a good family member sometimes being around is all it's about. You're not getting better, it's just being there and building a rapport with people and I think with certain positions … it's just important to be there and continue to build chemistry. That's the way I function. That's why I'm here. And I just love being here.
Several Eagles veterans are absent from this voluntary portion of OTAs, and they have every right to stay away.
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Kelce just isn't that wired that way.
"My value is just being a veteran guy and trying to help out when I can," he said. "Anything that I've learned along the way that I can shed my perspective on."
And he's here because of Carson.
Kelce and Carson Wentz maybe more than any two Eagles teammates have to be on the proverbial same page. Both of them know what's at stake this year, so every rep they can get together helps.
That's a big part of it," Kelce said. "Unfortunately, with the injuries and stuff the last two years (he's) kind of been in and out and now we get a full offseason here to work together to go through the calls, to go through the little nuance things that you can talk about as much as you want in the film room but until something happens live and at full speed (where) all of a sudden, ‘Hey, that didn't feel right, or, ‘I didn't like the way that happened,' you know, ‘What if we do this next time?' And sometimes that doesn't end up sticking but those conversations are all part of fine tuning this thing to get it operating as efficiently as possible.
Kelce finished last year pretty banged up with a littany of injuries. He knows nobody would have blamed him if he stayed home and chilled during these voluntary practices and let Isaac Seumalo and Anthony Fabiano take the reps.
But that's just not him.
"Obviously, physically I don't know how much healthier or more athletic I'm going to get at this point of my career," he said. "But there's always something you can learn. There's a reason some of these older guys get better as they play, and I've certainly I think I've gotten better at anticipating and understanding the game and that allows you - even though you might not be as quick with your first step or something like that - the ability to anticipate and understand spacing and the way defenses line up and all that stuff (and) maybe allows you to play quicker mentally."
Kelce is one of only four players left on the roster who played under Andy Reid, a group that also includes Jason Peters, Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox.
Sometimes it seems like Kelce's always been here. It's hard to imagine the Eagles without him.
Even now, during a seemingly meaningless early June voluntary OTA practice.
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