Travis Kelce not deciding on Chiefs return until after season - ESPN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce has left the door open for a return next season — and not having this year be the last in his illustrious career.

As a 13-year veteran, Kelce understands how difficult it was for his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, to retire after the 2023 season. Although he is in the final year of his contract, Travis Kelce shared Friday that he plans to decide on whether to return to the Chiefs by early March, before NFL free agency begins.

«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."

Since June, Kelce, 36, had spoken about his future through only this season. If Kelce does return for his 14th season, he emphasized that he doesn't want fans, teams or players to give him a farewell tour.

«That's not me,» Kelce said.

One major reason Kelce might re-sign with the Chiefs in the offseason is because this season he has proved to still be one of the NFL's most productive tight ends.

Kelce is on pace for an eighth season with 1,000 receiving yards and his first since 2022. Although the Chiefs have a full collection of receivers — Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown and Tyquan Thornton — Kelce still leads the team in targets (66), receptions (50), yards (631), touchdowns (4) and receiving first downs (33). The Arizona Cardinals' Trey McBride (718) is the only tight end with more yards than Kelce.

Entering the 2025 season, 989 teams in the Super Bowl era have started 5-5