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Eagles great Jason Kelce paid tribute to the late Nick Mangold following his tragic death over the weekend, saying on the “New Heights” podcast that the Jets center was “10 times the player I was.”
Mangold had battled chronic kidney disease since 2006 and had only gone public with his urgent need for a new kidney earlier this month.
He died Saturday night, with the Jets announcing the news a day later. He was 41.
In speaking about Mangold during the latest episode of the podcast, Kelce, the former Eagles center, gave a glowing tribute to the Jets great.
“You wanna talk about one of the stalwarts, best offensive linemen to ever play the game,” Kelce said Wednesday while speaking with his brother, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who co-hosts the podcast. “A lot of people come up and tell me, ‘You’re the best center to ever play.’ I get that from other people, and it’s hard to receive that cause I know in my heart that Nick Mangold at his best was 10 times the player that I ever was.
“I could never be that dominant at the center position. Nick was phenomenal. He was unbelievable at pass protection, he was an unbelievably smart leader and getting those guys on the same page, and he would murder people on the run game. He was unbelievable when he was in the NFL, he was unbelievable at Ohio State. He was just a stud in every fashion. It’s just a travesty that this happened at such a young age, he’s got a whole f–klng family.”
Mangold played 11 seasons with the Jets and was a big part of the franchise’s trips to the AFC Championship Game in 2009 and ’10.
He was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times and was a two-time All-Pro before he retired after the 2016 season.
The Jets inducted Mangold into their Ring of Honor in 2022.
“When you think about offensive linemen over the past two decades, like the best of the best, you don’t look any further than Nick Mangold,” Kelce said.
