Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has confirmed his return for the 2025 NFL season.

On Thursday, ESPN's Pat McAfee reported that Kelce was returning after texting "source(s)."

While McAfee didn't directly cite Kelce, citing "source(s)," one can safely assume that he was, in fact, speaking with the 10-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion. In other words, McAfee cited a source who could only be Kelce based on the comments.

Given McAfee's remarks, one can safely assume that he was, in fact, speaking with Kelce, a 10-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion.

Kelce's New Heights podcast later confirmed the news on social media.

That dropped after Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week that he anticipated Kelce returning.

The 35-year-old Kelce has 1,004 career receptions, 12,151 career receiving yards and 80 total touchdowns.

Last year, Kelce had 97 catches for 823 yards and three scores during the regular season. The Chiefs went to the Super Bowl for the third straight year looking for a three-peat but got crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles, falling behind 34-0 before losing 40-22.

Kelce had a quiet game, catching just four passes for 39 yards, but it's clear he doesn't want Super Bowl LIX to be his last time on an NFL field.

The Kansas City Chiefs have long been considered the model franchise thanks to their on-field success in recent years, but it sounds like things aren't perfect off the field.

In a survey conducted by the NFL Players Association regarding player treatment around the league, the Chiefs ranked 26th out of 32 NFL teams overall, but their home game hotel was singled out as the worst of any franchise.

"Players say their home game hotel is below standard. They report that it is outdated, the beds are uncomfortable, and many players even keep their shoes on in their rooms because the floors—especially in the bathroom—are dirty and sticky," the NFLPA stated. "Leftover trash from previous occupants is also a common issue. It’s no surprise the Chiefs' home game hotel scored the lowest across the entire NFL."

It was also noted that Chiefs players "want a new home game hotel since the one the team currently uses ranks the lowest in the league."

The Chiefs graded head coach Andy Reid with an A+ and their nutritionist/dietician at an A-, but no other category received a grade higher than a B.

Kansas City fell short of completing the first three-peat in modern NFL history by losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, so it can be expected that changes are coming this offseason. It sounds like players hope the Chiefs address their home game hotel ASAP.

Travis Kelce, like many people around the world, is using Taylor Swift's music to get him through a rough time.

The Kansas City Chiefs star admitted on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast (starts at 1:19:52 mark) he's been listening to Swift songs to help him get over the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59.

"Jason, the only way you can find yourself in the light is to find yourself in the dark first, right?" Kelce said to his brother. "I listen to music that is very telling of my mood. ... I just listen to Taylor's music. She has something for everything."

Even though Kelce didn't specify which songs he was listening to, there are no shortage of tracks in Swift's catalog to pick from for a dark mood. Tracks like "All Too Well" or "Champagne Problems" or "Sad Beautiful Tragic" are a few that would fit.

The Chiefs played, by far, their worst game of the 2024 season in the Super Bowl. They allowed 40 points to the Eagles, their most in a game since Week 5 of the 2020 season.

Kansas City trailed by as many as 34 points against the Eagles. It was the team's largest deficit in a single game since Patrick Mahomes became the full-time starting quarterback in 2018.

Kelce told reporters after the loss the Chiefs "haven't played that bad all year."

There were also rumblings that Kelce might look to retire after the Super Bowl, but Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said on Tuesday they are "anticipating" the future Hall of Famer will return in 2025.

Eventually Kelce will get to a point when he can start listening to Swift's more upbeat and happy songs. The wound of a difficult Super Bowl loss seems like it's still too fresh for him to put something like "Love Story" or "Shake It Off" on the playlist right now.

While much of the focus regarding a notable member of the Kansas City Chiefs potentially retiring this offseason is on Travis Kelce, the reigning AFC champions at least don't have to worry about their head coach walking away any time soon.

"I like doing what I'm doing, and I like it right now. So I'm happy," Andy Reid said Tuesday during an interview with Judy Battista of NFL.com (6:10 mark).

Battista specifically asked Reid if he plans on remaining the head coach throughout Patrick Mahomes' realistic championship window. The head coach joked that doing so might mean coaching with a cane since Mahomes is just 29 years old and could play until he's 40.

But Reid also didn't seem to be in a hurry to head into retirement in the near future.

The 66-year-old has enjoyed an incredible amount of success in his 12 seasons with the Chiefs, including three Lombardi Trophies and five Super Bowl appearances. He has a 143-53 overall record with the team and has helped establish Kansas City as the gold standard of the recent NFL.

The tie-in with Mahomes is notable because Reid's Chiefs went from an annual playoff contender to an annual championship contender when No. 15 took over under center.

Since Mahomes became the full-time starter in 2018, Kansas City has never failed to make it to at least the AFC Championship Game in each of his seven years. It also has those five Super Bowl appearances and three Lombardi Trophies.

As long as Mahomes is playing quarterback, the team figures to be on the short list of realistic title contenders.

And Reid surely doesn't want to walk away from that.

It certainly seems like Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones wants to run things back with Travis Kelce still on the team in 2025.

Jones took to social media Tuesday and said, "My dawg got to come back we got unfinished business."

That unfinished business surely stems from Kansas City's Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, which prevented the Super Bowl 57 and Super Bowl 58 champs from becoming the first in NFL history to win three straight Lombardi Trophies.

Jones' comment came on the same day that Kelce's future was a topic of discussion at the NFL Scouting Combine. 

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach told reporters the team plans on the tight end returning. Veach added, "how we left at the end of the season is that he was fired up. I think we left it as he'd be back and were excited to get him back and get him going."

Kelce addressed his future on the Feb. 12 episode of his New Heights podcast and said, "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."

The future Hall of Famer returning for just one season would make some sense, as the 2025 campaign is set to be the last one on his current deal. It would also give him an opportunity to go out on top as a Super Bowl champion if he can help lead the Chiefs to another Lombardi Trophy next season.

Yet Kelce doesn't have anything left to prove at this point either and will be 36 years old for much of the 2025 campaign.

His resume includes three Super Bowl titles, 10 Pro Bowl selections, four First-Team All-Pro nods and seven years with more than 1,000 receiving yards. He is widely considered one of the top few tight ends in NFL history, and that won't change whether he returns next season or not.

But Jones seemed to indicate he wants Kelce back as the Chiefs look to bounce back from their Super Bowl loss.

Travis Kelce may not be ready to hang up his cleats just yet, at least according to Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach.

Speaking to reporters from the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, Veach said the Chiefs are "anticipating" that Kelce will return for the 2025 season.

During the Chiefs' postseason run, Kelce seemed to go back and forth on the possibility of retirement. He told Stephen A. Smith in an interview on Jan. 15 that his thoughts on retiring change "every single day" (starts at 23:35 mark).

After the Chiefs' 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59, Kelce didn't address any questions about his retirement. Patrick Mahomes said he thought Kelce "has a lot of football left in him" if he wanted to put in the work to go through another season.

Per The Athletic's Nate Taylor and Cale Clinton, the Chiefs wanted Kelce to give them an answer about his future by March 14 so they could properly plan for their offseason.

March 14 is also the date when Kelce's $11.5 million roster bonus for the 2025 season is due, per Spotrac.

If Kelce is returning, the Chiefs' pass-catching group next year looks formidable on paper. Xavier Worthy finished the year strong with 287 yards and three touchdowns in three playoff games.

Rashee Rice, who suffered a season-ending LCL injury in Week 4, figures to be ready for the start of 2025, although his availability could be complicated by a potential suspension under the NFL's personal conduct policy for his involvement in a six-car crash in March 2024 and an alleged assault at a Dallas nightclub two months later.

Rice has been charged with eight different counts related to the car crash. He won't face charges from the person over the alleged assault, though police are still investigating the situation.

Kelce is coming off the least productive season of his career, not including his rookie campaign in 2013, when a knee injury limited him to one game. He finished this year with 823 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 97 receptions.

The 35-year-old has had his two worst seasons by yards per reception in each of the past two years. He remains the go-to pass-catcher for Mahomes, leading the team in targets (133), receptions (97) and receiving yards (823) this season.

Even a diminished version of Kelce is still capable of great moments in big spots. He had a season-high 117 yards in Kansas City's 23-14 win over the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round.

Just over two weeks from the start of free agency, the Kansas City Chiefs want to keep star guard Trey Smith.

On the latest episode of the Scoop City podcast (starts at 7:09 mark), The Athletic's Dianna Russini noted the Chiefs are making the 25-year-old "a priority" before free agency opens on March 10.

The Chiefs do have the option of placing the franchise tag on Smith, but The Athletic's Nate Taylor reported last week they're unlikely to do so.

Kansas City is somewhat limited financially heading into the offseason, making it difficult to commit so much of the cap to a franchise tag. The projected tag value for offensive linemen is $25.8 million, but the Chiefs have just $7.9 million in cap space right now.

Smith figures to be one of the most sought-after players in free agency if he hits the market. He has started all 67 games he's played in the NFL since being selected in the sixth round of the 2021 draft.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell is predicting the Tennessee product will sign a deal with an average annual salary of $24 million. The highest-paid guard in the NFL is currently Landon Dickerson of the Philadelphia Eagles at $21 million per season. Chris Lindstrom, Robert Hunt and Quenton Nelson are the only other interior offensive linemen making at least $20 million annually.

The Chiefs saw last season how difficult things can be when they don't have good protection for Patrick Mahomes up front. He was sacked a career-high 36 times in the regular season and got bullied in the Super Bowl when the Eagles took him down six times.

Smith has proved himself to be a foundational piece on the offensive line in Kansas City. He's still young and figures to have many excellent years ahead of him.

It will be up to the Chiefs to decide if they can afford to pay Smith while also attempting to address their other issues that were exposed over the course of this season and in the playoffs.

Don't expect Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to provide an answer about his status for the 2025 NFL season by the time the Scouting Combine arrives.

The Athletic's Nate Taylor reported Sunday the combine, which ends March 3, will likely come and go without any clarity regarding Kelce.

That's still a little ahead of the general deadline the Chiefs have given the 10-time Pro Bowler. Taylor and colleague Cade Clinton reported the three-time reigning AFC champions "want to know of his decision around March 14."

The NFL's 2025 league year starts on March 12 and that's when free agency officially opens. Teams can begin negotiations with free agents on March 10.

For Kansas City, it's important to know early into free agency whether it will need a new starting tight end for next season, and there are salary considerations with Kelce. He has an $11.5 million roster bonus that gets paid out on March 14.

Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce said on the newest episode of The Steam Room his younger brother "probably, in his heart, already knows what he wants to do."

It could seemingly go either way with the 35-year-old pass-catcher.

Kelce is coming off his worst season—excluding 2013 when he was limited to one game. He caught 97 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns. His 51.4 receiving yards per game and 8.5 yards per reception were both well below his career averages.

There's also no longer the chance to make NFL history after the Philadelphia Eagles denied the Chiefs' three-peat bid in Super Bowl LIX.

But Kelce may want one more opportunity to end what's a Hall of Fame career on a high note. Kansas City should remain in the Super Bowl hunt next season, so he could plausibly earn a fourth Super Bowl ring and then hang his cleats up.

If Kelce has basically made up his mind, then it sounds as though he's in no rush to publicize his choice.

The Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly going to allow one of their best players to hit the open market this offseason.

Nate Taylor of The Athletic reported that a league source said the Chiefs "are not expected to place the franchise tag or the transition tag on" stalwart guard Trey Smith, who is "expected to be the most coveted offensive lineman this year in free agency."

Taylor noted that Kansas City could choose to offer Smith a long-term contract like it did with center Creed Humphrey, who signed a four-year deal last offseason that included guaranteed money in 2025 and 2026. Taylor said that general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid "should offer Smith a similar contract, one that makes him one of the league’s highest-paid guards."

Smith earned his first career Pro Bowl selection in 2024 after appearing in all 17 games for the second straight year and not allowing a sack all year across 655 pass-blocking snaps. He also drew just two penalties, the lowest single-season total of his four-year career after entering the league as a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Smith's $3.4 million salary for the 2024 season was well below his pay grade. Comparatively, the league's highest-paid guard this past year was Philadelphia Eagles veteran Landon Dickerson at $21 million. Chris Lindstrom of the Atlanta Falcons ranked second with a salary of $20.5 million, while Robert Hunt of the Miami Dolphins and Quenton Nelson of the Indianapolis Colts tied for third at $20 million.

It won't be easy for the Chiefs to stave off other teams that are hoping to land Smith this offseason on a big-money contract. However, if Kansas City offers him a major payday, he could choose to run it back after the team fell short of completing a three-peat by losing to the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.

The Kansas City Chiefs' struggles in Super Bowl LIX could potentially be attributed to the team's lengthy postseason runs over the past several years.

Henry McKenna of Fox Sports reported that the team may have been dealing with some burnout after reaching three consecutive Super Bowls and that it could have contributed to the team's 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Before the game, a Chiefs coach told me that media members had been asking him if going to Super Bowls ever got old," McKenna wrote. "And he bluntly told me: 'It does.' There was legit Super Bowl fatigue from this Chiefs team. It was completely clear in the first half, when things escalated quickly."

The Chiefs have played 154 games since the start of 2018 and have played 61 total games over the last three seasons. That's the most of any NFL team during that stretch and could have been a major reason for the team's crushing performance in New Orleans last Sunday.

As Kansas City prepares for another deep postseason run in 2025, managing the schedule and the team's workload should be at the forefront of the coaching staff's approach as they try to rebound from a tough end to the 2024 campaign.