Kelce is preparing for what could be his last dance in the NFL.
Tight end Travis Kelce may not be quite ready to walk away from the gridiron and call it a career just yet. Speaking to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said he expects Kelce to return for the 2025 season.
Reflecting on his conversation with the star at the end of the 2024 campaign, Veach stated that he believes Kelce is “fired up” about playing in the final year of his current deal. While there have been multiple reports surrounding a possible deadline for Kelce to make his final decision, Veach added that “as far as I’m concerned there is no deadline.” Kelce is set to receive a $11.5 million roster bonus on March 15.
“We left it as. He’d be back and we’re excited to get him back and get him going,” Veach said, via Front Office Sports.
As for Andy Reid, who also spoke to reporters Tuesday in the ‘Hosier State’, Indianapolis, the Chiefs head coach was a bit more vague regarding Kelce’s future.
“That’s up to Travis,” Reid said. “[I told him] to get out of town and relax. That’s kind of my motto for these guys. They played a lot of games for a consistent amount of seasons. At the end of the thing, you’ve exhausted yourself mentally and physically, step back and take care of that and then we’ll talk. For right now, I think that’s what he’s doing.”
Embed from Getty ImagesSo, while it may not be a concrete answer from the man himself, the initial signs from the Chiefs front office point to Kelce possibly coming back for another season, which would be the 13th of his career, all with Kansas City.
While Kelce has remained a key cog and durable piece to the Chiefs offense, his production has dwindled. His 823 yards receiving over the 16 games he played in the regular season, were the lowest of his career outside of his rookie season where he played just one game. His three receiving touchdowns were also a career low outside of that rookie campaign.
In the playoffs, he hauled in 13 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown, but that largely came in Kansas City’s divisional-round matchup against the Houston Texans where he totaled seven catches for 117 yards and that lone score in a 23-14 victory. In the AFC Championship and Super Bowl LIX, Kelce totaled six catches for 58 yards against the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.
The 35-year-old has one year remaining on his current contract with a base salary of $4.5 million and a $19.8 million cap hit to go along with that roster bonus.
