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Travis Kelce quickly made up his mind about his NFL future shortly after the Chiefs got shellacked in Super Bowl LIX against Philadelphia less than 11 months ago.
“I think I knew right away I wanted to give this one a shot,” Kelce said in a video Sam McDowell posted to his X account after Kansas City’s season ended Sunday with a 14-12 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders.
While speculation ran rampant online and across sports talk shows, Kelce never seriously entertained the idea of retirement after last season.
But Sunday at Allegiant Stadium — where the Chiefs secured the first back-to-back Super Bowl titles in nearly two decades with an overtime win against San Francisco in February 2024, one of Kelce’s greatest career achievements — felt different as he pondered questions about whether he’s pulled on his NFL pads for the final time.
“Either it hits me quick, or I’ve got to take some time,” Kelce said. “... I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Kelce’s competitive fire wouldn’t allow him to walk away last year after a lopsided Super Bowl loss. It’s fair to wonder whether a 6-11 campaign, the worst he’s endured with the Chiefs, will sit any better, especially with Patrick Mahomes facing a lengthy recovery from a mid-December knee injury.
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“We’ll just see where it goes,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We really haven’t gone through that.”
As a rookie in 2013, Kelce needed knee surgery of his own and was shut down after one game. He started a career arc in 2014 that inevitably will lead to enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in his native Ohio.
That was also the last time Kelce and the Chiefs failed to reach the postseason.
Beginning in 2016, Kansas City embarked on a run of nine straight AFC West crowns, the second-longest streak of division titles in NFL history. That’s also the year Kelce started a run of seven straight 1,000-yard seasons, an NFL record, and 10 straight seasons with at least 75 receptions, tying another NFL record (Tim Brown).
Mahomes arrived in 2017, became the starter in 2018 and the rest is history.
Mahomes to Kelce powered the Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles in two other Super Bowl appearances in the previous six seasons.
“I’m not buying it,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “He’ll be back next year.”
Jones said he wasn’t speaking for Kelce, but the two obviously are close after sharing a locker room together for the last decade.
“This year was a tricky year for us,” Jones said. “I’ve got faith [that] my dog [is] coming back.”
As he said on Christmas night after the Chiefs’ final home game of the season, Kelce said he plans to take some time in the coming weeks, perhaps even the next month, before making a decision.
“I’ve got so much love for this team, this organization and the people here,” Kelce said. “I’ll spend some time with them, go through exit meetings tomorrow (Monday), and get close to the family and figure things out.”
Family, of course, now includes fiancée Taylor Swift, with the pair reportedly set to wed in June.
It also includes his brother and “New Heights" podcast co-host Jason — a future Hall of Fame center for the Eagles, who retired at age 36 after 13 NFL seasons following the 2023 season.
Kelce is 36 and just finished his 13th NFL season.
“Obviously, we didn’t do as well as a team, but I felt like I came into the season prepared and ready to rock ‘n’ roll with the right intentions,” Kelce said. “The ball just didn’t go our way in a lot of those close games, unfortunately. If I do choose to come back, that’s something I’ve really got to focus on is making sure that I’m available and I’m ready for those moments.”
Kelce, who topped 13,000 career receiving yards Sunday, tied for 24th in the NFL with 76 catches this season and finished 28th in the league with 851 receiving yards, third among tight ends behind Arizona’s Trey McBride (1,239) and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts Sr. (928). He remains a productive player, but his brother was a first-team All-Pro in six of the seven seasons before his retirement, too.
“I just pray this isn’t my dog’s last time,” Jones said.
Kelce ranks eighth in NFL history with 1,080 catches and 23rd with 13,002 receiving yards. His 82 touchdown catches are tied for 31st in league history. If he returns for one more season, he’d likely finish top five all-time in catches, top 15 all-time in receiving yards and top 20 in receiving touchdowns.
Kelce is the NFL’s all-time leader in playoff receptions (178) and ranks second to Jerry Rice in postseason receiving yards and touchdowns.
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