As the NFL playoffs continue on and we get to the final stop before the Super Bowl next week, with the conference championship games, the Kansas City Chiefs are in the new position of watching it all unfold from home.
Instead of making their quest for a fourth-straight Super Bowl appearance, the Chiefs have other pressing matters on their hand. And one NFL personality believes that one of their highest priorities might need to be figured out even before the Super Bowl kicks off in the Bay Area.
Chiefs beat writer for ESPN, Nate Taylor, says the franchise needs to stop any potential retirement of superstar tight end Travis Kelce and keep him playing in Kansas City for at least one more year.
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“Convince tight end Travis Kelce to return,” Taylor wrote. “The odds might not be in the Chiefs’ favor, but he is still productive and someone Patrick Mahomes trusts over any other pass catcher.”
Mahomes suffered a torn ACL in the team’s postseason-eliminating loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at home, but has been publicly optimistic about his recovery and expects to be ready to start by Week 1 next season.
Kelce and Mahomes are known best friends, and with the multi-time MVP possibly healthy and wanting to make another run, it could convince his favorite target to hold off retirement for one final run at redemption.
The Chiefs hope Kelce decides soon whether he will return for a 14th season, as they have a difficult salary cap situation to navigate, depending on whether he plays next season.
Although it was a challenging year for the Chiefs and Kelce, it was still a strong individual season for the 11-time Pro Bowler. He was fourth in receiving yards at his position with 851 and was still a workhorse with the second-most routes run of any tight end.
In his prime or not, Kelce is a linchpin of not only the Chiefs’ offense but the locker room as well. His retirement would mark the official end of an era that produced one of the strongest NFL dynasties over the past decade.
