Usually, when a player on another team retires, it’s only a big deal for that team. But, a new study shows that Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles retiring could benefit the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s a bit strange, since the Chiefs fell to the Eagles in the Super Bowl earlier this year, and that was without Kelce in the fold. But, it’s still interesting to look at, especially since Jason, of course, is the brother of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
A Problem for the Kansas City Chiefs is Solved
In a June 4 feature for PFF, Dalton Wasserman names every NFL team’s Achilles’ heel from the past few seasons. It’s an interesting piece, because it points out the NFL player who has performed best against each NFL team. Some of these players are surprising, including Jason Kelce for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the piece, they look at the highest-graded player, offensive or defensive, against each NFL team over the past five seasons. “The only requirement is that said player has to have played at least 100 snaps against a team, effectively ensuring that at least two games occurred between the opponents,” Wasserman notes.
So, what makes Jason the Chiefs’ Achilles’ heel of the past few seasons, especially when he wasn’t even playing last season? In the feature, Wasserman discusses Jason’s stellar performance against the Chiefs the three times that he played his brother’s team.
“Kelce faced the Chiefs three times across his final three NFL seasons and dominated in multiple facets. Combining those performances, he earned an elite 93.8 PFF overall grade,” Wasserman stated in the piece.
He added, “He allowed just one pressure, a hurry in Week 4 of 2021, across the three outings. His 96.5 PFF run-blocking grade in the 2021 matchup was the highest he recorded in a game in his career.”
So, based on this piece, Jason retiring before last season was a good thing for Travis and the Chiefs. How odd is that?
Plenty to Be Happy About for the Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs have lots of reasons to be optimistic in 2025, and in a separate June 10 feature for PFF, Wasserman gives a reason for optimism for each NFL team in 2025. “Every NFL team will enter the 2025 season with a clean slate — no wins, no losses,” he states in the story. “While those records will shift dramatically in the following weeks, each franchise has some hope of finding success until then.”
The reasons usually have to do with certain players who are expected to help their teams immensely, and when it comes to the Vikings, he could have gone with a range of positives.
For the Chiefs, it’s all about Rashee Rice being back, with Wasserman noting that the Chiefs “took a massive hit last season when Rashee Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury.”
“After posting an excellent 86.1 PFF receiving grade during his rookie season, Rice recorded an 85.5 PFF receiving grade in 2024 prior to suffering his injury,” he adds. “He was well on his way to becoming Patrick Mahomes’ top target, and his void severely limited the Chiefs’ ability to create explosive plays.” He adds that Rice’s return will be huge for the Chiefs.
