The Kansas City Chiefs failed in their quest for an historic three-peat in this year’s Super Bowl.
Now the question facing the team is what the 2026 roster will look like.
And now Travis Kelce made one decision about retirement that took the NFL by storm.
Signs point to Travis Kelce returning
Travis Kelce signed a two-year extension that would take Kelce through the 2027 season.
But following a down 2024 season – Kelce didn’t catch his first touchdown until week 7 and he recorded his fewest yards receiving since 2015 – the talk has been whether Kelce still wanted to play in light of his relationship with billionaire pop star Taylor Swift hanging over the team.
Kelce’s dreadful 4 catches for 39 yard performance in the Chiefs 40-22 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl only raised the speculation that Kelce would retire rather than carry on a shell of his former self.
On a recent episode of his New Heights podcast, Travis told his brother Jason that he was undecided on playing in 2025 and was in no hurry to make up his mind.
“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. I’m not making any crazy decisions. I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,” Travis Kelce stated. “And, I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back, it’s a wholehearted decision. I’m not half-assing it, and I’m fully here for them.”
“As far as I’m concerned, there is no deadline,” Travis added. “I think we left it as he’d be back, and we’re excited to get him back and get him going.”
But the team and the league all think Travis Kelce is coming back for one more year.
“How we left it at the end of the season is that he was fired up,” Kansas City general manager Brett Veach revealed during an interview at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He has one more year under contract. I still think he has that fire and desire to play.”
Age catching up with Kelce
Veach praised Kelce as the ultimate team player.
“He makes us better when he’s in our locker room and on our field and we’re excited to get him back,” Veach added, going on to say that Kelce “accomplished everything that there is in this game.”
The buzz around the media was also that Travis Kelce would suit up for the Chiefs in the 2025 season.
“I can just tell you from having a few conversations with people around the league over the last few days there’s definitely a sense that Travis is going to try to play more,” The Athletic’s Senior NFL Insider Dianna Russini said a week prior during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. “I haven’t heard anyone say, ‘Yeah, he’s really struggling with what he wants to do.'”
The Chiefs offense looked haggard and limited all season by a lack of downfield threats.
Kelce may not be what he was a couple of years ago.
But he can still play.
However, the shortcomings that accompany age only get magnified by the fact that the Chiefs didn’t have the talent around Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes last season, which also forced Kelce to take on a leading role in the offense when at this point in his career he is best suited to serve in a complimentary role.
