When Jason Kelce announced his retirement, the Eagles released a Video Kelce thanks the team staff for their years of hard work. A close look at the video showed something unusual: Kelce's ankles were taped, just as they would be during a game. It turned out that the ankle bracelet reflected a special relationship between Kelce and a team coach.
Eagles coach Joe O'Pella wrote on social media that he had taped Kelce's ankle every game for years. But O'Pella missed the final game of Kelce's career, the playoff loss in Tampa, because he was receiving chemotherapy. So Kelce asked O'Pella to be the last person to bandage his ankles as an Eagle, before his farewell speech.
“You all know the accomplishments on the field and many know the achievements off the field as well, but what this man has meant to me and now my family over the last decade and more is almost indescribable,” O'Pella wrote. “In his final season, when I was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo radiation and chemotherapy, he offered me his house on the beach when I needed to get away and offered to pay for meals for my wife and to help me. and he randomly called me while I was home because I was too sick from chemo to come in just to check on me and chat about random things. This is who he is as a person. I taped this guy's knuckles and thumbs every day for 13 seasons, and when he played his last game in Tampa, I couldn't play again because of cancer. And when he told me he was retiring and I expressed regret that I wasn't the last person to ever record him, he offered to let me record him for his retirement press conference. That's him. And I hope these stories can add to an already incredible legacy.”
In the video where Kelce addresses the Eagles staff, he expresses his gratitude.
“Thank you for everything everyone here does and means to this organization and the players,” Kelce said. “It was an honor to work with all of you.”
The feeling is clearly mutual.