It's possible that Kansas City Chiefs fans saw their last glimpse of No. 87 at home.
The Kansas City Chiefs lost a surprisingly tight 20-13 contest to the 12-3 Denver Broncos on Christmas. The Chiefs went into the game as nearly two-touchdown underdogs and were close to a shocking upset of the No. 1 seed in the AFC in the final minutes on Thursday night. There was certainly a rally cry felt in the closing moments of the game, and Kansas City played with an energy and hunger they just weren’t expected to have. Perhaps that was driven by tight end Travis Kelce, who played like a guy who might’ve just played his last one at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kelce had a quieter night to start off, only recording five catches for 36 yards while being thrown to by Chiefs’ third string quarterback Chris Oladokun, as Patrick Mahomes watched from a club box after his ACL surgery, and Gardner Minshew remained out with his own knee injury. However, most of that production came towards the end of the contest while Kansas City was trying to stage a comeback and an incredible upset. Naturally, the retirement rumors that were already swirling were stoked by the performance by Kelce that had a lot of heart.
Here is the full story from Chiefs Roundtable writer Bob McCullough on Kelce’s latest comments surrounding his retirement.
Kelce certainly could’ve thrown in the towel when the Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in nine seasons. The four-time All-Pro is expected to make a decision soon after the season, per ESPN, but at minimum, decided to see this season out with his team regardless of their postseason viability.
Kelce was the final player to run out of the tunnel on Thursday night following Oladokun, and it was very likely potentially his last. His five catches added to a total of 645 passes Kelce has caught at Arrowhead Stadium, which is the third-most by any player in one stadium since the merger.