Eagles' Jason Kelce to Ben Simmons: 'Just Play Better Man, This City Will Love You'

Jason Kelce has joined the list of Philadelphia centers to speak out against Ben Simmons amid his ongoing standoff with the 76ers. 

"Everybody can bitch and complain about how tough this city is to play in," Kelce told reporters when asked about the situation. "Just play better man, this city will love you."

Things between Simmons and the 76ers have deteriorated since their Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. 

Joel Embiid, who passive-aggressively criticized Simmons after that game, sounded off earlier this week after the All-Star point guard was kicked out of practice.  

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Simmons has been reluctant to "physically and mentally engage with the Sixers" since he returned to the team last week.  

The 76ers announced that Simmons was suspended for the regular-season opener for conduct detrimental to the team. Philadelphia defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 117-97 in Wednesday's game without the 25-year-old. 

Kelce is in his 11th season with the Eagles. He was originally a sixth-round draft pick by the organization in 2011 and moved into the starting lineup right out of the gate as a rookie. 

The 33-year-old is a four-time Pro Bowler, three-time first team All-Pro selection and helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LII during the 2017 season.