Retirement is an especially tough decision for any NFL player, but that appears to especially be the case for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
He came back this season because he didn’t want to leave the game after the Chiefs lost the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles in a 40-22 blowout, and Kelce worked hard to lose weight so he could regain some of his old speed and quickness.
His approach has worked, but that doesn’t mean it’s getting any easier for Kelce to ring the final bell on what is almost certainly a Hall of Fame career. Kelce commented on the possibility of calling it quits this week in an ESPN article written by Nate Taylor, and it sounds like he’s still struggling with this decision.
"I want to give the Chiefs a good opportunity, whether I come back or not -- or whether they want me back or not," Kelce said. "I'd like to make that decision before they've got to get draft picks and free agency opens to fill the roster appropriately.
"All that will be at the end of the season. I won't be thinking about it until then."
If he does come back, Kelce won’t be thinking of doing a farewell tour to celebrate his achievements.
"That's not me," he added.
What Kelce could be celebrating if the Chiefs can right the ship and go on a final tear is the return of his productivity. He still leads the team with 50 catches for 631 yards and four touchdowns, this despite the fact that Kansas City’s wide receiver corps is formidable indeed now that everyone is back and healthy.
"I think what you're seeing is I'm a product of my environment right now," Kelce said, smiling. "Everything is predicated off of how the offensive line does and how the guys around us do and, obviously, the chemistry me and [Patrick Mahomes] have been able to accumulate over the years.
"I just think the chemistry, how together we are and how much we're willing to fight for each other, it's not a matter of effort. It's all just execution. We're in here every single day grinding our tails off trying to get that fixed. You feel it from the coaches. They're tightening things up a little bit so that we focus on those details so that we can play fast and play with a purpose."
It’s also a business decision that goes far beyond football. As much as we hate to say it, Kelce is one half of the ultimate power couple, and if he does retire, the football fantasies of millions of Swifties go with him, not to mention the millions that continue to pour in as the cash registers continue to ring.