Jason Kelce arrives for what could be his last NFL game as the 13-year Eagles center prepares to face the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round following days of retirement talk

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce dressed in a black team-issued sweatshirt and carrying a leather bag arrived at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for Monday night’s playoff game with the Buccaneers.

Unlike his brother, Travis, the fashionably adventurous Kansas City Chiefs star, Jason prefers to keep it casual on game days, usually wearing sweatpants and T-shirts.

Monday on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Jason didn’t even bother with socks, instead wearing flip-flops ahead of the Wild Card round.

The 9-8 Buccaneers host the 11-6 Eagles thanks to winning the NFC South. The Eagles once seemed confident of winning the NFC East before losing five of their last six.

Entering the game, there was talk that this could be Kelce’s last appearance in an Eagles uniform.

The 36-year-old father of three has played 13 NFL seasons, missing only a handful of games during that time. And he recently admitted to reporters in Philadelphia that retirement is approaching whether he likes it or not.

“I try to remind guys that I did this, and my dad told me this from the time I started playing football: one day you step off the sidewalk and that could be the end of your career.

“So you try to approach every game with that mentality. But obviously the closer and older you get to that realization, it might become a little more prominent.

‘But that is of course not the most important thing. The most important thing is, you know, going out there and fighting with every one of the guys in this locker room.

“No matter how many years I or anyone else plays, this team only has one game left at this point and that’s what we’re really focused on.”

Jason and his wife Kylie are reportedly having an “awkward” relationship with his brother Travis’ new girlfriend, Taylor Swift.

Kelce previously admitted he was considering retirement after losing last season’s Super Bowl to brother Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs, before announcing on Twitter (now X) in March that he’s “not done yet!”

But five months later, discussing his hectic NFL schedule, he said, “I think it’s a lot, and I think the way we’ve justified it as a family is that this (playing football) here will be over pretty quickly. If it is this year, which it very well could be, we want to make sure we are ready to go when the football is done.”

Regardless of when he retires, older brother Kelce will be remembered as one of the best centers of his era, earning All-Pro First Team honors six times and starting for the Eagles in their Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots. past.

Jason’s life has changed dramatically since Travis started dating pop sensation Taylor Swift last year, significantly increasing his and his brother’s fame.

However, it has been reported that Swift has a testy relationship with the Eagles star and his wife Kylie.

Travis’s brother Jason and his wife Kylie apparently haven’t made the singer feel too welcome and media comments about their relationship have upset Swift, according to Life and Style magazine.

Jason and Kylie are more reserved in the spotlight than Travis and his girlfriend

In November, before Jason’s Eagles played the Chiefs in Kansas City, Kylie Kelce gave an interview in which she said the spotlight “isn’t exactly my thing” and that she prefers watching games from the stands rather than in the luxury suits from which Swift cheers . the chefs.

Swift has met Kelce’s parents — mom Donna and dad Ed — but so far there are no photos of her meeting Jason, who Travis is very close to, or Kylie.

Life and Style quoted a source as saying, “Taylor hasn’t had the best reception from Jason and his wife.”

Kylie’s quotes about the spotlight particularly irked Swift, with the source adding, “Taylor took that personally and it’s been very awkward ever since.”