One of the biggest NFL storylines of the offseason will be the future of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Kelce has done it all in the league. He’s firmly entrenched as one of the great tight ends in the history of the NFL and won multiple Super Bowls. Off the field, his potential may be even bigger given his engagement to Taylor Swift, top rated podcast, and movie and television roles.
Which way Kelce goes is a major question. But on SportsCenter, former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum gave his opinion that the Kansas City Chiefs should make his decision for him. He said that given Kelce’s age and future ability, the Chiefs would be wise to move on from the future Hall of Fame tight end.
“I would move on from Travis Kelce. … If I was Kansas City, I would make the right, albeit difficult, decision.”@RealTannenbaum on Travis Kelce’s future with the Chiefs ✍️ pic.twitter.com/Stsrhh7jZv
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 18, 2026
“I would move on from Travis Kelce. And let me tell you why. When you’re in the front office, you have to project what a player is going to do, not what they’ve done. I’ve made that mistake countless times in my career. And Travis Kelce is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but when you watch him and make an honest and sober evaluation of his 2025 performance, clearly his best days are behind him. You talk about their lack of explosive plays, if I was Kansas City, I would make the right, albeit difficult, decision to move on from Travis Kelce. Try to get younger, faster, more explosive at the tight end position,” Tannenbaum said.
Kelce’s Chiefs teammate Chris Jones did not appreciate Tannenbaum’s thoughts, giving the former NFL GM a simple message in replying to the SportsCenter video.
Shut up…..🤫 https://t.co/6PhxaIzIRW
— Chris Jones (@StoneColdJones) February 19, 2026
It’s definitely a bold take to tell an NFL franchise to discard one of its all-time franchise greats and someone who will walk into Canton. And even though his numbers pale in comparison to what he put up in his prime, Kelce was still one of the most prolific tight ends in the league last season. He finished fourth in yards and sixth in receptions among tight ends in 2025.
After the final Chiefs game of the season at Arrowhead Stadium, Amazon Prime Video cameras followed Kelce for a very long period of time as he greeted everyone while leaving the field. It was definitely presented as if there was a strong possibility that it would be the final time that we’d see Kelce in Kansas City wearing a Chiefs uniform… or perhaps any NFL uniform.
To this point, Travis Kelce hasn’t announced anything relating to his NFL future or given even an inkling of when he might reveal his future plans. But you can’t blame the man if he wants to take his time. After all, he is also marrying the world’s most famous pop star in Taylor Swift this offseason.