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With a 4-8-1 record, the Philadelphia Eagles are far from making the NFL Playoffs. This is why there has been some talk of the team possibly tanking the rest of the way to increase chances of acquiring a high draft pick next year. Eagles center Jason Kelce, however, is simply having none of this.
When faced with the prospect of his team intentionally dropping games, the 33-year-old veteran went on a lengthy comment in an interview with Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia on why tanking is a concept that he completely disagrees with.
Kelce agreed that at this point in the season, the Eagles could benefit in the long run by providing their younger players with some much-needed playing time. He, however, remains adamant that winning must still be their number one priority.
“At all times in the NFL, the focus should be on winning the football game. Nothing else takes precedence. No player evaluation. No amount of curiosity from anybody within the organization. Everything is focused—in my opinion—in this league upon winning games.
Kelce also talked about how some squads perpetuate a losing culture so they can possibly get ahead in the future.
Article Continues Below“You see a lot of losing teams sustain losses for a number of years when they have bad cultures. They have cultures where you don't try and win every week. Where you're trying to finish (with a bad record): ‘What are we going to do in the draft? What are we going to do in free agency? What can we do over here?' In football, this isn't basketball. One draft pick isn't going to make us a Super Bowl champion. It might be a big start to a Super Bowl championship, but it's always going to be about the team.”
Kelce did not stop there. He expressed his belief that tanking should never be an option for the Eagles.
“I don't care who you're trying to evaluate. I don't care if you've lost every game, you're 0-15 and it's the last one you got. Everything is about winning. I know that won't appease a lot of people out there who always want to talk about getting better draft position or getting looks at certain guys to see what you've got for the future.”
Some wise words from Kelce here, who even took a bit of a shot at some other teams that might be taking the tanking approach right now. We're looking at you, New York Jets.
Kelce and the Eagles still have three games left, which starts with a Week 15 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
