Eagle-eyed fans noticed Jason Kelce’s ankles were taped during his retirement announcement, and now he’s sharing the heartfelt backstory.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but one of the trainers with the [Philadelphia] Eagles has been battling cancer all season long. He’s been there my entire career too — Joe O’Pella,” Kelce, 36, shared on the Wednesday, March 6, episode of the “New Heights” podcast. “Thankfully he’s in remission, they don’t have any signs of it. They’re still going to, I think, do an operation to really make sure, but he’s looking good.”
He continued, “But he wasn’t able to tape me for any of the games this year, and he’s taped my ankles my whole career, so he taped me for the press conference one last time. So I had ankle tape on with sandals.”
Kelce announced his retirement from the NFL in an emotional speech on Monday, March 4. (It was initially reported in January that Kelce had informed his Eagles teammates of his retirement plans after losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wild card game.)
Following Kelce’s press conference, O’Pella took to social media to share a heartfelt tribute to the Eagles center and recall their friendship.
“In what would be his final season, when I was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo radiation and chemo, he offered his shore house if I needed to get away, and offered to pay for meal services to help my wife and I out,” O’Pella wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, March 5, “and he called me randomly when I had been home, too sick to come in [because] of chemo, just to check on me and chat about random things.”
O’Pella also posted several sweet snaps of himself with Kelce through the years, showcasing their bond on and off the field.
“I taped this guy’s ankles and thumbs everyday for 13 seasons, and when he played his last game in Tampa, again I couldn’t be there due to cancer,” he continued. “And when he told me he would be retiring and I expressed my regret of not being the last person to ever tape him, and he offered to have me tape him for his retirement press conference. That’s who he is.”
During his 13-season run with the Eagles, Kelce led the team to their first-ever Super Bowl win in 2018. They returned to the NFL championship in 2023 but lost to Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs.
