The Kansas City Chiefs were very sure Kelce wouldn't be retiring, according to comments from Brett Veach.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce spent the initial part of the offseason as a man of mystery when it comes to whether he knew if he’d be retiring, but Chiefs GM Brett Veach said the team was never in doubt about this. The “news” about this surfaced via a piece by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk that referenced Veach’s recent appearance on the The Pat McAfee Show.
Initial reports had Kelce considering retirement, which wasn’t surprising given the Chiefs’ disappointing season that included a severe knee injury to quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Once Kelce didn’t make any announcement about retiring, though, it wasn’t all that hard to figure out what was going on.
“We played our last game of the season in Vegas last year, and when we got back we have player meetings and exit interviews,” Veach said. “It was a cool deal where Trav came in and he basically said ‘I’m going to take a few weeks off here, but I’m not going out like this, let’s stay in touch and let’s figure something out. . . . We certainly knew ahead of time.”
There were early rumors about Kansas City considering possible Kelce replacements via free agency, but those quickly fizzled. The Chiefs were happy to let the speculation continue, which is hardly uncommon in situations like these, as NFL teams consider news about the status of star players to be the football equivalent of military secrets.
“While free agency and there was still some questions in the air on whether or not he’d return, we knew basically the day after our last game,” Veach added. “He made it known to coach Reid and to me that there was no way he was going out like this.”
Veach didn’t speculate about this season being Kelce’s “last dance,” as the GM put it, but he added that Kelce “thought about being there” as quarterback Patrick Mahomes continues to rehab from his torn ACL.
The loyalty between Mahomes and Kelce is well-established, and it appears to be based on more than just the on-field connection the two players have that elevated Kelce from All-Pro tight end to genuine NFL superstar.
It’s not hard to guess what’s going to happen from here. As laudable as Kelce’s loyalty is, it’s also based on ongoing success, and the tight end will try to stick around for as long as possible if Mahomes returns to form. Kelce is 36, however, so the clock is definitely ticking on his connection with Mahomes.