February 05, 2022
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
PHILADELPHIA - DECEMBER 26: Jason Kelce #62 of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before the game against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on December 26, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Now that the Philadelphia Eagles' 2021 season is over, we'll be taking a position-by-position look at which players will likely be back with the team in 2022, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll look at center.
In previous offseasons, we've tackled each positional group "in order," as in, quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, and then onto the defense. Just as a quick programming note, I'm going to jump around a little more this year, so if you're wondering if you missed the quarterbacks, no, we haven't published that one yet.
On the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls.
Previous stay or go articles:
Jonathan Gannon | Nick Sirianni
Running back | Wide receiver | Defensive end
I don't know if Kelce is going to retire this offseason or not, and I'm not sure anyone else does either, Kelce included.
If Kelce retires, his cap situation should be a little more straightforward than Brandon Brooks'. The Eagles would likely place Kelce on the reserve/retired list on June 2, and the Eagles would incur a dead money hit of $13,568,000, $4,499,000 of which will count on the 2022 salary cap, and $9,069,000 of which will count toward the 2023 salary cap. That's the easy part.
The interesting aspect of Kelce's contract is that there's a "poison pill" of sorts, as reported by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, that says that the Eagles will owe Kelce $30 million if he's still on the roster on June 2 (I believe it's actually June 3, but whatever).
As such, if Kelce is going to return for one more season, he and the Eagles will have to negotiate a new contract. Kelce was deservedly a first-team All Pro and Pro Bowl player in 2021. He is still arguably the best center in the NFL. He effectively played on a one-year deal worth $9 million in 2021, but would be justified in asking to be the league's highest-paid center, a title currently held by the Lions' Frank Ragnow, who currently makes $13,500,000 on an average annual value basis.
Would Kelce play another year at a discount? He certainly has "retirement leverage," if he so chose to wield that. Anyway, his return to the team isn't quite as simple as, "Yaaaaayyyy he's coming back." There's work that would need to be done on the negotiating front.
#JimmyVerdict: When you're the best in the world at something, it's kind of hard to give that up, even if that thing can cripple your body for life. Kelce waited until March 5 last season before he announced that he was returning for the 2021 season, so we may not hear from him for a bit. Reading the tea leaves, I believe there are three pretty good reasons for his return:
Again, I have no inside information here, but if I had to guess, I believe that he and the Eagles will be able to hammer out another one-year deal, and he will return to the team. Also, I feel like the longer he waits, the longer his body has time to heal, and the more likely he is to return. Stay.
Eagles stay or go: Jason Kelce
After Brandon Brooks was lost for the season with his pec strain, the Eagles signed Anderson off of the Bills' practice squad. The Bills selected Anderson in the seventh round of the 2021 draft, so 2021 was his rookie season. #Analysis.
Anderson played in two games for the Eagles in 2021. He played seven snaps at center late in a lopsided win Week 16 against the Giants, and he started at guard against Dallas Week 18, before moving to center after Brett Toth tore his ACL (more on that in a moment).
#JimmyVerdict: Anderson has some center/guard versatility, like a number of other players on the roster, like Landon Dickerson and Isaac Seumalo. The Eagles highly value that, and I believe they will want to continue to develop Anderson. Stay.
Eagles stay or go: Jack Anderson
Wait, Toth is a center? Eh, he has mostly played at offensive tackle for the Eagles, but since he played center in the Eagles' meaningless Week 18 games against Dallas this season, he obviously got plenty of work there during the season in practice, or they wouldn't have played him there. Maybe Jeff Stoutland saw something in him as a center? Since we had plenty of other guys to talk about in the offensive tackle article and we're light on centers, let's put him in here. Good? Good.
Toth has appeared in nine games in the Eagles' regular offense over the last two years, despite being a fringe roster guy who has ping-ponged back and forth between the Eagles and Cardinals. In that meaningless game against the Cowboys, Toth tore an ACL:
#Eagles OL Brett Toth tore his ACL, per an NFL source. https://t.co/td42dxryKr
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 25, 2022
That's why you rest starters, by the way.
#JimmyVerdict: Toth is still under contract in 2022. It can't hurt to keep him on the PUP list to begin the season, and "break glass if necessary" later in the season. Stay, but not actually on the active roster.
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