The biggest news of the offseason for the Kansas City Chiefs was that start tight end Travis Kelce was pushing off retirement and returning for his 13th NFL season in 2025.
The seven-time All-Pro and 10-time Pro Bowler has been the top tight end in the NFL since becoming a starter back in 2014, and though he’s coming off the worst season of his career statistically—his 823 yards receiving and three touchdown catches are the lowest of his career—Kelce is still considered one of the best at his position.
The bulk of Kelce’s offseason, which started with weeks of speculation about whether or not Super Bowl LIX was his final NFL game, was spent with girlfriend Taylor Swift actively avoiding the public eye.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
After a few vacations and private trips with Swift, the couple have been spotted out in public a few times the last few weeks as the Chiefs gear up for minicamp following by training camp in late July.
Kelce was present for Chiefs practice on Tuesday, and the team sent the future Hall of Famer a two-word message on social media.
“Hi, @tkelce ð,” the team wrote on X along with a video of him greeting some of his teammates and catching passes in a drill.
Kelce’s presence on the field on Tuesday had Chiefs fans fired up, and many of them took to the comment section to point out how good the slimmer version of Kelce looks so far (he lost a reported 25 pounds during the offseason.)
“First time on grass all offseason ð¥ð¥ð¥,” one fan wrote.
“Slim Trav bout to kill this season!!!” a second added.
“He still has ittttttttttttt,” remarked a third fan.
“Ummmmmm, he can play like three more years if he looks like that,” one user noted.
“Bro is getting 1200 yards this season,” declared another user.
“Year 13 is gonna be ð¥,” another fan predicted.
Though 2024 was a down year by Kelce’s standards, he still ranked third in targets (131) and receptions (97), and fifth in receiving yards among tight ends last year, per Pro Football Focus.
The 35-year-old also led the Chiefs targets, receptions, receiving yards, catches for first downs (46), and ranked second in yards after the catch (340).