Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs.
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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has announced a new career move with his brother Jason that's starting now.
When free agency kicked off a couple of weeks ago, we learned that tight end Travis Kelce will be officially returning to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 14th NFL season.
For the second consecutive offseason, Kelce took some time to mull over retirement. He certainly has plenty of opportunities awaiting him when he does decide to call it a career, such as acting and sports media.
However, the desire to keep playing still burns in him. Kelce has done it all since entering the league back in 2013, and his place as a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer is secure. We learned on Monday that he’s taking things season-by-season despite his contract being for a total of three years.
Travis Kelce Takes Over Kansas City Chiefs’ Social Media Account to Send Message to Fans
Kelce officially inked his new contract with the Chiefs on Monday, then sent a message to fans in the typical form we’ve come to know and love from him.
“Chiefs Kingdom, let’s go baby!” Kelce exclaimed. “It’s official. I’m excited for 2026, and just excited to put on a Chiefs uniform in front of you guys again. Let’s get Arrowhead rocking, baby!”
Kelce also snapped a picture with Tom Melvin, who has been his tight ends positional coach for the entirety of his NFL career.
Kelce had this to say about his return on a recent episode of his New Heights podcast:
“I’ve made decisions based off of emotions, and, you know, they haven’t always played out the right way. So I think taking a step back, letting the emotions settle down, the frustrations from the season. Of course, I want to come back. Of course, I don’t want to end my career not making the playoffs and not having one of the best years, and, you know, definitely having a down year and all that. So, I think taking a step back and like letting it kind of build. And, you know, what’s my desire? What’s my body feel like? How did I feel going into this year versus coming out of this year, and where my body was at and, you know, even letting it kind of settle, it still felt like I was hungry enough to get back at it. And obviously, there’s still a little bit of that, that grit and that emotion that, you know, I hated the way that shit ended last year. And I want to do this. I want to, I want to make it right, you know, I get another chance in another Super Bowl.”
Chiefs Need to Add More Weapons to Take Pressure off Travis Kelce
Travis Kelce
GettyChiefs tight end Travis Kelce
Kansas City has been too reliant on Kelce being its top skill position player over the last few years. Although he’s still among the best tight ends in the NFL, he’s not in his prime anymore. Unfortunately, the Chiefs don’t currently have abundance of impressive pass catchers.
Backup tight end Noah Gray is coming off one of the least productive years of his career in 2025, and others such as Jared Wiley and Jake Briningstool are unproven. In the wide receiver corps, Rashee Rice is one again embroiled in legal issues, leaving his status for the 2026 season unknown.
Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton are good complementary pieces who possess top end speed, but aren’t No. 1 WR status. The Chiefs need someone who can be a consistent threat on any given down and help open things up for others. It’s possible they add a free agent receiver, but will likely first see how the 2026 NFL Draft shakes out.