The usual suspects will gatekeep and keep any serious conversation between themselves

Kelce has until March 14 to decide whether to retire, per the Athletic


https://www.foxnews.com/sports/chief...-retire-report

Florio thinks he's done. It all but settles it. He'll be back

What a bad situation.

You can't cut a guy that has brought this much to the team.

But if Mahomes is using him as a binky, that binky is chewed up and has holes in it. It should really be replaced. Get it over with.

You can't be a pro athlete and be half out and be great. If he feels like he's half out then retire or be all in.

Yup. It's pretty damn hard to go to 3 straight much less 4. This is a perfect year to move on from him and see what we need.

I think Andy will help guide Kelce to make the right decision… which is to retire.

I mean if you have to think about your football future that should already be telling

Kelce is an ALL WORLD PRO and will be inducted to the HOF without question. He is still young and would be gobbled up for acting as well as the success of the new heights POD cast with Jason. This team is going to have to do their homework this offseason and it will not be easy. We will have to see how this offseason and draft goes :thumb: WE, as fans, have no control with what the future holds. In Veach I trust!

Curious ... Does anyone think that the New Heights podcast will lose some of its luster / popularity if neither of the brothers are playing in the NFL..?

That's not a "deadline" but if he is still on the roster he is owed $11M so it becomes an important date for sure ..

In some ways but it could also free him up to say more. They'll just have to keep bringing in current players and coaches as guests.

I don’t think so. People still listen to will Comptons podcast. At this point the only people really listening to it for the football takes are probably eagles and chiefs fans. Their content was way more interesting when they start incorporating guys like Charles Barkley and bill Murray. Probably a lot of it because Travis wasn’t exactly thinking about podcast content during the season

Nate Taylor went on the radio and said the team wants Kelce back, but in a reduced role. Situational playmaker/mentor.

I don’t think Kelce wants to be a reduced “role player” which is why I think he will retire

On a long and lonesome highway
East of Omaha

I still would be surprised if Travis isn’t open to this. The team should let kelce take as much time as he needs to mentally recharge. If it means skipping the preseason or some early games, fine. We can win regular season games without him.

Makes too much sense. Way easier to ask for a pay cut in exchange for less team activities (versus dropping a bomb that he’s playing less). Great excuse to limit his reps and chalk it up to ramp up. Chiefs get a fresher, recharged player late in the season and Travis can end his career the right way.

Disagree. I think he’d be fine with it if it meant not ending his career on such a bad note. And reduced role could still mean you increase his role towards the playoff stretch. The only downside is pride and money.

Isn't there a misused photo of Travis yelling at Reid for taking him out of the game

Yep. Chiefs are being as diplomatic about it as possible but they know Kelce will absolutely hate it. Tell him the expectations going forward and let him decide.

What if he doesn’t want a part time role and Chiefs cut him?

How would we feel about seeing him playing for another team?

https://www.marca.com/en/nfl/kansas-...f908b4577.html

"According to Nate Taylor of The Fan 96.5, the Chiefs want Kelce to return for the final year of his contract, but under a reduced role. Rather than being the focal point of the offense, he would be utilized as a situational playmaker and mentor, helping to develop his likely successors."

Terrible. I think it’s unlikely though.

Killa Trav isn’t going to accept that role.

That's what Kelce's role would have been this season with a healthy Rice, Brown, and up and coming Worthy. Instead, they rode Kelce hard and he looked gassed by the end.

I think it’s the only role he would come back for.

He can’t handle the #1/2 load anymore and he knows that.

A passing the torch season would be perfect.

I think this is being over thought. Does kelce care about the snap counts or the highlights? If he’s fresh on 20 routes he’s more effective than if he’s 80% on 55.

I'm failing to see why Kelce would have a problem with this. Does anybody think it would've went any different from that this year had Rice and Brown not gone down?

Yeah, it seems its the org and locker room that Trav would miss the most, not getting the shit kicked out of him for 20 games

Watching some of his lack of effort in the Super Bowl he needs to take a role like this or retire. It was a pathetic effort on his part.

Huh? He shoved a fat old man in his 60s because he was raging about not being in the game.

or, he could go and be number one on a sh itty team and not have to worry about playaing 20 games next year. I guess you could call it a win lose situation for Travis.

Regarding lack of effort- this is a good breakdown not only of Kelce's mediocre night, but quite a few others who seemed to operate at 50% effort during the biggest game of their careers. The Eagles were aggressive and hungry for a championship; the Chiefs were not.

FYI- this guy is a great follow; knows ball and does an exceptional job breaking down film.


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Since everyone believes KC cheats through the refs making slanted calls.. might as well cheat by having the FO encourage Kelce to retire only to sign him off the couch in November for a playoff run.

His body language has sucked all season long. It just seemed like he wasn't having fun anymore. He looked disinterested in the game's outcome at times.

I chalked it up initially to him being bored in the regular season. But to see that version of him re-emerged in the Super Bowl and was disheartening.

Yes this is what I watched.

On the second play Smith gets blown up by an undersized DE.
And Caliendo is on his knees for some reason. Veach, Reed, and Heck did the offense no favors with their choices on players. And getting the guys hungry and ready to play.

Good hell it’s embarrassing. DO NOT BRING CALIENDO BACK!!!!!
I do not want Reed or Heck to be tempted to even play this USFL back up again.

It is not the coach's job in the NFL to make people hungry and ready to play.

And, personally, I don't think Reid called a bad game.... our OLine had problems containing their DLine most the night... a few extra runs with our mediocre running backs and behind our OLine wouldn't have made a difference.

I am beginning to think that he should have pulled Kelce due to lack of effort. Maybe that would have fired Kelce up again.. I don't know.

You mean last year right.. not this year.

There seems to be some more whispers about him deciding to go one more year and making this is final run. But nothing quite confirmed.

Again - why not cash in on doing the Prime documentary for his final lap like Jason did?

He probably doesn’t want to do a victory lap final season if he’s a shell of his former self.

Where are these whispers coming from?

He looked lost, burnt out, beat up and not fully into the Super Bowl by the time they shit the bed on the first drive after half.

He has achieved so much, 1st ballot HOF'er, great life outside football..

If he does want to go one more year, he needs a pay restructure, and maybe he can get some exceptions for his practice schedule so he is not so beat up.

He won't play for anybody else but Andy!

He will retire!

The betting odds are, retirement -125 & -195 for the Canucks. Chargers are favorites for next team. Put your money down

League circles.

Eh, hope he comes back but if his heart isn't in it, such is life. Even with all his accomplishments, I would hate to see him go out with such a sudden thud. Is that really the performance of his last game? A half passing in the biggest game of the year? You gotta land the plane Trav.

And I don't really think New Heights can survive the long haul without fading into being another ex nfl player podcast. The original appeal was 2 present NFL players giving their "as transparent as can be" opinions on most things football. Even with some of the big names as guests, it has lost some of its luster and the long format is getting harder to watch. I get more of my New Heights fix in clips rather than the watching the whole thing, and none of it involves any big name guest.

ROFL

There was something on Only Weird Games this week about how the plan for Kelce this year was load management, until Rice went down he wasn't taking as many snaps or as many targets.

The plan was never to be having 10-15 target games this season, it just happened because of Rice and Brown.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It was a casual outreach but the Club is planning on Kelce returning for 1 more year, more load will be placed on Noah Gray and don&#39;t forget about injured rookie Jared Wiley. <a href="https://t.co/SpZT16sXOY">https://t.co/SpZT16sXOY</a></p>&mdash; The OG Chiefs Kingdom (@1_ChiefsKingdom) <a href="https://twitter.com/1_ChiefsKingdom/status/1891624580046819737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

rando twitter accounts that know nothing

it's BS

I Thought Taytay had load management handled. :thumb:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rob Gronkowski weighs in on Travis Kelce&#39;s future in the NFL.<br><br>&quot;I believe he can go at least another 2 years. We&#39;re talking his stats being down. How are your stats down if you have 80 plus catches at 35 years old?” <a href="https://t.co/1TbEeN3r06">pic.twitter.com/1TbEeN3r06</a></p>&mdash; Brad Henson Productions (@BradHensonPro) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradHensonPro/status/1891859497376698828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Gronk's brain is a chunk of tofu that absorbs the surrounding flavors and calls it, it's own. Seems unanimous

It might be better if he walks. Patrick uses him as a crutch too much, forcing balls that might be better spread around. Also, his blocking was pathetic in the Super Bowl. But, most of all he didn't seem like he was having any fun all season long.

I would attribute that last part to be domesticated. He is no longer just out there with his reputation on the line. That changes outside demeanor and behavior. Doesn't mean he wasn't having any fun, but he definitely was not behaving outwardly as his normal self on the field most of last season.

Nah. Read up on all the things gronk said about retiring and coming back. He was burnt the **** out. It’s not a matter of not needing football. He needs recharge time even if that means giving him as much time as he needs to get his mind right. Even if that means preseason or early season reps.

Even if that means, you need to cut me the check, on faith that I will come back, cause i mf’ing earned it!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some sources believe Kansas City Chiefs star TE Travis Kelce is &quot;leaning more toward&quot; returning for the 2025 season rather than to retire:<br><br>&quot;There&#39;s definitely a sense that Travis is going to try to play more.&quot;<br><br>Via <a href="https://twitter.com/DMRussini?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DMRussini</a> <a href="https://t.co/O6COeR9Via">pic.twitter.com/O6COeR9Via</a></p>&mdash; Sportskeeda Pro Football (@SKProFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/SKProFootball/status/1892417236519776758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

From following Gronk as a Patriots fan, he was 100% burnt out and the guy did look a little better in some ways in Tampa once he removed the rust than his last year in New England. Obviously Evans/Godwin/AB much better supporting cast than Edelman and not much else. Burnt out from all of the injuries/hits and IMO burnt out from how Belichick used/abused him and expected him to kind of play hurt as much as possible.

Gronk not nearly as good as Kelce at avoiding hits but he could overly just run over some players. But his playing style led to a lot of contact injuries. On the other hand, Kelce has played even more games/years than Gronk and Gronk has never done what Kelce just did since when the Patriots made 2016 Super Bowl, Gronk didn't even play those playoffs since he was hurt.

The season in the NFL is so long, if I was KC I would give Kelce at least the first 4 weeks off if he needs it at all. Maybe with a "fake injury" if necessary since it is probably important for him to stay in football shape.

Ride off into the sunset dude...

Had the Chiefs pulled off the three-peat may it would have made it more difficult to return. Now it's unfinished business.

Our Chiefs can still pull off the greatest dynasty ever with a Super Bowl victory this year. The three-peat would have made it a wider gap between us and the others but it's still a pretty great consolation. Travis isn't sitting out for that.

If we pay a 36 year old TE 19 mil we are stupid.

"Some sources believe..." Solid journalism right there. :)

I dunno, seems like if you’re on the fence or trying to talk yourself into it, you might as well check out.

"going to try to play" lol

Has Kelce actually said that? I dunno, seems like we should actually hear from the man himself before we draw any conclusions.

Being this hung up on an important locker room leader making 19m when he singlehandedly through his girlfriend brings in $330m is also stupid. I'd like to cut that number down too. But there are indirect ways to use that money to improve the team.

They'll add a void year on it.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chiefs GM Brett Veach on Travis Kelce:<br><br>Nothing final, but impression is Kelce is fired up, still one more year on his deal. There’s no deadline. Feels excited to get him back</p>&mdash; Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattVerderame/status/1894434402714677546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Well from the man himself who stated he is back for next year. He is going to work hard this off-season to get in better shape.

So I believe I will go with Travis himself and not BWildered.

Sent from my SM-G986U1 using Tapatalk

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Travis Kelce plans to play in the 2025 season, <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PatMcAfeeShow</a> confirmed with the Chiefs&#39; tight end. <a href="https://t.co/GW2EggGhRy">pic.twitter.com/GW2EggGhRy</a></p>&mdash; ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1895199232950243795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Not on a donkey...Do it on a horse after winning the Super Bowl next season.

He's not going anywhere yet

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Finally got time to listen to New Heights.<br><br>To hear Travis Kelce explain why he’s coming back for his 13th season is powerful.<br><br>You can tell he truly cares about giving his all for the Chiefs. I know I’d want to run through a wall for him.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChiefsKingdom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChiefsKingdom</a> <a href="https://t.co/RokBOTJdqX">pic.twitter.com/RokBOTJdqX</a></p>&mdash; Eddie Resurreccion (@EdmarResurrecc1) <a href="https://twitter.com/EdmarResurrecc1/status/1897377620838457392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>