Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs.
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On Super Bowl Sunday, news broke that Travis Kelce would be meeting with the Chiefs shortly after the Super Bowl to talk.
Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are in the offseason, but they’re anything but inactive. Kelce and the team are putting their heads together to figure out if he should return for the 2026-27 season, and while the Chiefs have made it known that they’d like him back, it’s not as easy as just saying, “Let’s do it.”
On Super Bowl Sunday, February 8, amid the hype of the West Coast matchup, news broke that Kelce would be meeting with the Chiefs shortly after the Super Bowl to talk. The team officially ended their season on January 4, following a 14-12 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
After that game, Kelce was asked some retirement questions, and responded. “Who knows? It either hits me quick or I’ve got to take some time. Last year, it was a little bit easier. I think I knew right away, I wanted to give this [year] a shot. We’ll see.”
Now, more news has surfaced about Kelce and the Chiefs, and one NFL expert believes the team is already moving mountains for him.
Kansas City Chiefs Making Moves for Tight End Travis Kelce
On Thursday, February 12, Jesse Palmer of The Athletic’s “Scoop City” discussed the idea that the Kansas City Chiefs brought back Eric Bieniemy to obviously help fix issues with the offense. One of those fixes, he notes, was putting Kelce more center stage again.
“I’m interested in the return of Eric Bieniemy,” Palmer said on the show. “Talking to some people around the league this past week, it was ‘Maybe we stalled out for a few different reasons as an offense in Kansas City, and EB might be able to change some of those.'”
He added, “And one of the things that I was told was maybe there were opportunities where Travis Kelce should have been still the main target or the priority within the progression in some of these times. And maybe they moved a little too far away.”
Kelce had a solid season, but he was down from his peak. He rounded out the season with 76 receptions for 851 yards and five touchdowns. The 76 receptions marked 21 less than the 97 he had in the previous season.
Kelce finished out the final year of a two-year, $34.25 million extension last season, so in order to return, the Chiefs would have to put together a brand new contract. According to numbers from Over the Cap, the Chiefs are$50 million-plus over the projected cap of more than $300 million, so that’s an issue.
Kansas City Chiefs in the 2026 NFL Draft
In a Thursday, February 12, feature for Fox Sports, Rob Rang discusses the Chiefs’ position in the 2026 NFL Draft. He has them picking safety Caleb Downs of Ohio State.
“Adding his instincts and playmaking skills to an already gifted Chiefs secondary is a smart strategy given all the quarterback talent in the AFC West,” he states in the piece.
He adds that it would be a standout pick, because, “Of note, if the draft were to play out as I have it projected, Downs would be the fourth Buckeye selected among the top 10 — an unprecedented number in NFL draft history.”