Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs.
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On Wednesday, March 11, the Kansas City Chiefs have officially announced that tight end Travis Kelce is back.
It’s finally official: Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are back together for another season. On Wednesday, March 11, the Chiefs took to social media to officially announce that Kelce is back with the team.
“Like he never left,” the team posted on socials with a video of No. 87 returning. The video’s text simply says, “He’s back.”
Followers were quick to react to the news. “Let’s go. Time to lock in for another season,” another said. “It’s time to start working… now, looked slow last year,” one said.
On X, one follower said, “Let’s get a real WR1 and another DE and he’s riding off into the sunset with another Lombardi.” Another added, “Greatest TE to ever do it. Others will attempt to debate it but there is zero debate. He is him.”
Before the Deal, Rumors Were Swirling About Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs
Just a few days ago, things looked rocky for this reunion. On Sunday, March 8, NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic dropped the report that Kelce was looking outside the Chiefs for a 2026-27 run, but that obviously wasn’t correct.
“Based on conversations with several teams, TE Travis Kelce appears motivated to return to play a 14th season,” she said in a post on X. “The Chiefs remain very much in the mix to re-sign the three-time Super Bowl champion and four-time All-Pro.”
That same day, in a feature for The Athletic, Russini and her colleague Jesse Newell aid that while Kelce is expected to play his 14th season in the NFL, there’s “no guarantee it’s with Chiefs.” The story added that “it isn’t a sure thing that the team he plays for would be the Kansas City Chiefs. Kelce’s representatives are expected to talk to multiple teams.”
NFL Insiders Pushed Back on Travis Kelce Rumors
But, insiders were quick to push back. On Monday, March 9, NFL insider Ian Rapoport dropped the news that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was expected to return to the team for his 14th NFL season in 2026.
Now, it’s official. It makes sense that Kelce would want one more go with the Chiefs. The team rounded out their last season with no trip to the playoffs or Super Bowl, and it was the worst season in the Patrick Mahomes era. So, Kelce wants to go out on top, not after such a troubling season. Let’s go, Chiefs Kingdom.
During the Wednesday, March 4 episode of his “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason, Travis was asked by Randy Moss what he’ll miss most about the NFL and football whenever he decides to retire.
“I think it’s just those moments in the big games,” Kelce said on the show. “That’s a feeling I know I’ll never get again. Those are the things you cherish the most. If you’re fortunate enough to be in the playoffs and make runs at it, the satisfaction that you get and the successful feeling of all the hard work you put in is finally paying off and I think that’ll be one of the things I miss the most for sure.”