It looked like Travis Kelce was slowing down. Then the Kansas City Chiefs star tight end rediscovered some speed in a transformative offseason that’s allowed him to turn back the clock at 36 years old in 2025.
Kelce’s on pace for his first 1,000-yard receiving season since 2022, and it’s begged the question if this year will be the final one of his 13-year career, after all.
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The three-time Super Bowl champion and 10-time Pro Bowler told reporters Friday that he’s not making that call until after the season. But he wants to decide before the start of the new league year.
He explained that preference while referencing his experience watching his brother, one-time Super Bowl champ and seven-time Pro Bowl center Jason Kelce, retire with the Philadelphia Eagles in March of last year.
“I think seeing my brother go through it, and seeing just how the league works, the season kind of restarts in April,” Travis Kelce said.
“I want to give the Chiefs a good opportunity, whether I come back or not, and vice versa, whether they want me back or not, it’s one of those things where I’d like to make that decision before they gotta get draft picks, and free agency opens, so that it gives them an opportunity to go out there and fill the roster appropriately.
“All that will be at the end of the season. I won’t be thinking about it until then.”
Right now, the Chiefs are 5-5 and fighting to make the playoffs. They haven’t missed the postseason since 2014, Kelce’s second year with the team after Kansas City took him in the third round of the 2013 draft.
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All five of the Chiefs’ losses this season have come in one-score games, perhaps some regression to the mean after they won 15 regular-season games with only a plus-59 point differential in 2024.
They are enjoying more offensive success than they did a year ago, though, and Kelce’s bounce back is part of that resurgence.
He’s second among all NFL tight ends this season with 631 receiving yards. His 50 receptions are at least 12 more than any other Kansas City player has recorded during the 2025 campaign.
“He’s done a heck of a job,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said, via ESPN. “He worked like crazy in the offseason to get himself in tip-top shape, which you have to do when you start reaching an older age. You’ve got to work a little bit extra, and he did that.
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“It’s paying off for him.”
Kelce has a lot to look forward after his playing days are over. He’s got a mega-popular podcast that he co-hosts with his brother Jason. And, of course, he’s engaged to pop star Taylor Swift.
For the moment, he’s still an integral part to a Chiefs offense quarterbacked by one of the game’s best, Patrick Mahomes.
When Kelce ultimately decides to walk away, he’s not looking for any kind of farewell tour.
“That’s not me,” Kelce said Friday. “I like to take it day-by-day, year-by-year and just evaluate it like that.”
This news was originally published on this post .
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