Travis Kelce has not retired, but at 37 and on a one-year deal, this could be his last season in Kansas City (Getty Images)
At 37, he is in his 14th season on a one-year deal, and Kansas City moved to 6-2 after a 35-12 win over the Jets on Sunday. Kelce has said nothing final about 2027. If that group grows, the offense will not need to score 30 every week, and that lowers the pressure on whoever inherits Kelce’s snaps.
Travis Kelce has not retired, but the clock is ticking. The Chiefs still have to plan for it. His exit would take away Patrick Mahomes ‘s safest target, the franchise’s all-time leader in catches and yards, and a locker-room voice, while the quarterback is still working back from a major knee injury. The defense matters here too. First-round cornerback Mansoor Delane and defensive tackle Peter Woods are part of a younger core.
Since 2022, Travis Kelce has accounted for 22.7% of Kansas City’s receiving yards, more than double Rashee Rice’s 10.2%. Through seven games this season, he led the team with 29 catches and 410 yards, fifth most in the NFL . He and Mahomes also passed Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates for the most combined passing and receiving yards by a quarterback and tight end, 9,360 to 9,352. The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons, and he did not want that to be the last chapter. A real tight end in the 2027 draft would make sense, but a rookie will not replace Kelce’s feel for coverage.
He reportedly told the team, “I’m not going out like this,” and later said, “I’m still in love with this game. He said then that he would decide after the season and move quickly. Those are not decoy numbers. His legs are older, but his job has not changed. He still finds the soft spot in a zone, and Mahomes still looks for him when a play falls apart. Sunday showed both sides of that. Kelce scored on a rushing touchdown, which made him the oldest tight end in NFL history to do so. What pushed him back was last season. He has also been clear about how the ending will look. If he follows the same plan, the news will arrive early in the new year, with no long goodbye, and the Chiefs will have only weeks to react. Noah Gray is the only other tight end who plays much. Mahomes targets him less often than Kelce, though he scored against the Broncos last week. Kansas City also did not add a tight end in this year’s draft, which tells you how firmly the team planned around Kelce this season. My read is that the fix will be built, not bought. Rice can take more of the short and intermediate volume. Kenneth Walker gives the run game a steady lead back, which lets the Chiefs lean on play-action and shorter drops instead of asking a quarterback with a bad knee to carry everything.
Asked last year if he might announce a farewell tour, he answered, “That’s not me.