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Ahead of last week’s Super Bowl, rumors swirled around the playing future of Travis Kelce. Three days after Kansas City’s big loss, the star tight end revealed on his “New Heights” podcast that he needs time to decide whether to continue his career or hang up his cleats.
“I know everybody wants to know whether I’m playing next year and right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. I’m kicking every can I can down the road. I’m not making any crazy decisions,” Kelce said.
“I’ve been fortunate over the past five, six years, I’ve played more football than anybody. It’s because of the people that are in that building. The fact that we keep going to these AFC championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league. That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body and it’s a lot of time spent in the building, focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand and every challenge that you set up for yourself,” he said.
Regarded as one of the NFL’s all-time great tight ends, Kelce is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. Kelce caught 97 passes for 823 yards and only three touchdowns. The two latter statistics are the lowest of Kelce’s career since his rookie season when he played in one game. While speaking to his brother, Jason, on the podcast, Kelce delved into his internal struggles this season.
“That process can be grueling. It can weigh on you, it can make you better, it can drive you crazy at the same time. And right now, it’s one of those things where it was driving me crazy this year. It happens as you kind of tail off towards the back nine of your career as SVP [Scott Van Pelt] would say.”
A four-time All-Pro between 2016-2022, Kelce has failed to crack 1,000 yards each of the past two seasons after surpassing that mark the previous seven years. Additionally, Kelce’s performance in this year’s postseason didn’t match his previous standard. In three games, the future Hall of Famer caught 13 passes for 175 yards and one TD. In last year’s path to winning the Super Bowl, Kelce caught a playoff-best 32 passes for 355 yards and three scores in four games.
“As you see yourself or not feel yourself have the success you once had, it’s a tough pill to swallow. For that not to be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team’s counting on you, those are all extremely hard things … it’s just a tough reality,” Kelce said.
While it is clear that Kelce is no longer the player he was at his peak, he remains one of the top tight ends in football. Kelce ranked fifth amongst all tight ends in receiving yards and third in receptions. Including wide receivers, Kelce’s 97 catches ranked 12th in the NFL. Still, he acknowledges that he has a big decision to make — both for himself and his teammates.
