KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Winning the Super Bowl almost doesn't seem real to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce after everything that's happened in the three months since Kansas City rallied past San Francisco to win Super Bowl LIV.
"It's still been pretty surreal," Kelce said Wednesday on a videoconference with reporters. "I think that quarantine has almost made it like it was a dream."
Entering his eighth season with the Chiefs, Kelce said finally becoming a Super Bowl champion only heightened his desire to go after a repeat.
"The biggest thing is that it's very motivating," he said. "It's motivating to be able to do it again. I've already got the competitive mindset to gear up and start this thing all over again."
Kelce knows he's not alone in that sentiment inside the Chiefs' locker room.
"It's ingrained in this team to fight, man, and to battle their tails off, to work their tails off," he said. "I'm ready to help recreate this team's identity, and moving forward we're just excited because we have a lot of the pieces coming back."
The Chiefs return 20 of 22 starters from the Super Bowl and are a heavy favorite to return next season, when Super Bowl LV is scheduled for next February in Tampa Bay.
"Everybody that I played with last year on the Chiefs ... they made it fun to come into the office," Kelce said. "We all enjoyed being around each other and I don't see that chemistry changing, especially with the leaders we have coming back."
The Chiefs' players hope to be reunited again soon.
NFL teams received a memo from commissioner Roger Goodell last week outlining protocols to reopen team facilities as soon as May 15, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday the virtual offseason had been extended another two weeks.
