Former Eagles star Jason Kelce gave his thoughts on the Bryce Harper drama with the Phillies. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Hey, how ’bout a Halloween metaphor? This Bryce Harper drama is a zombie. Just when you think it’s dead, it comes back to life.
Now, Jason Kelce chimed in on Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s alleged dissing of Harper. The retired Eagles legend said Dombrowski “phrased it poorly” during his now-infamous press conference when he said the Phillies star may never be an elite player again
“It depends on how it’s said, and that’s what I think is unique about the Dombrowski thing,” Kelce said on Thursday’s morning show on 94 WIP. “(Dombrowski) saying that he doesn’t know that the guy has the potential to be a great player again is way different than saying the guy isn’t playing up to his potential. And that’s a very big difference.”
Here’s the entire clip of Kelce discussing the Harper-Dombrowski flap:
So much has happened since Dombrowski’s press conference on Oct. 16, including Harper’s agent clapping back at Dombrowski; a national baseball insider stoking trade gossip involving Harper; Dombrowski tap-dancing around his original comments; and Harper saying Dombrowski’s words “ hurt” him and the trade rumors made him feel “uncomfortable,” as reported by The Athletic’s Matt Gelb.
“This thing’s got a life of its own,” Dombrowski said of the Harper drama via the Foul Territory podcast. “It’s a shame where this has gone.”
But it was Dombrowski who gave this thing a life of its own when he pondered to a room full of media whether Harper, a two-time MVP, can “rise to the next level again” with six years remaining on his 13-year, $330 million deal.
At 33, Harper saw his season-end stats dip in 2025. His .844 OPS was his lowest since 2016 and his .261 average was his worst since 2019. He also only hit 27 home runs. But Dombrowski never mentioned a wrist injury that sapped Harper’s production for a stretch this past season and landed him on the IL for 23 days.
“It’s disappointing to hear me being questioned about my contribution to the team. Just really hurt by that notion because I love Philly so much,” he told The Athletic.
However, Kelce has a theory — that Dombrowski’s comments were meant to challenge Harper, not diss him. “I think he meant it that way,”Kelce said. “I just think he phrased it poorly, and if he said it again, I think he would phrase it differently.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonystitt/2025/10/30/jason-kelce-chimes-in-on-bryce-harper-phillies-drama/
