Jason Kelce believes Eagles missed out on 'one of the best guards' in Isaac Seumalo
The Eagles captain knows that the Eagles will miss Isaac Seumalo going forward.
Isaac Seumalo will be someone the Philadelphia Eagles miss in the 2023 NFL season.
But his departure was one that was unheralded. Now, Eagles captain Jason Kelce is admitting that the loss of Seumalo to the Pittsburgh Steelers will be one that the Eagles feel for a while moving forward.
"I think he's one of the best guards in the NFL, and I think he has been," Kelce told reporters Wednesday. "I think he's one of the most consistent players I've ever been around, one of the most consistent people I've ever been around. So we're not going to replace Isaac, there's going to be someone new in there, and they're going to have their attributes that they're going to excel with, and I'm looking forward to seeing who does a really good job with that."
As things stand, the Eagles' second-year lineman Cam Jurgens will replace the play of Seumalo. It is quite a bit of pressure to place on the shoulders of Jurgens, but it is one he must handle if Philadelphia aims to keep pace in an NFC that has gotten better over the offseason.
Seumalo played the best football of his career. He played and started every game of the season, which was a welcome change for the 29-year-old who ended his last two seasons on the injury reserve list.
"Isaac is a really, really special player," Kelce said. "I know we've said that here for a long time, and I still don't think people really truly grasp what he did for our room. And me personally, I think he's probably the smartest player I've ever been around. Really, really gifted physically, mentally, across the board. So I think the Steelers are getting a steal, that's a good pun, I guess."
There will undoubtedly be a position battle to see who takes Seumalo's spot. Kelce expressed that there are a number of players that are serious contenders for the starting role.
"We have a number of contenders, I mean the Eagles are always drafting people and bringing in talent on the offensive line, and it's something for me as an offensive lineman that I sure appreciate because it's a unit and a lot of times it's only going to be as good as its weakest link," Kelce said. "We've had a lot of really good players, and we've been able to weather injuries, and guys have gone on and had success elsewhere, so I look forward to being in the room, going through this offseason, training camp, and season, and figuring out what this unit's about."
Whether it's Jurgens, Tyler Steen, or someone else, Kelce has confidence that somebody will step in and step up and help Philadelphia move forward.
