News: Patrick Mahomes’ Telling Admission About Travis Kelce’s Potential Retirement

It almost feels like the Kansas City Chiefs are stuck in wait-and-see mode regarding the offseason until tight end Travis Kelce decides whether or not he’s planning to return for his 13th NFL season in 2025.

The Chiefs reportedly gave Kelce a hard deadline of March 14 — the day his $11.5 million roster bonus is set to kick in — to make his final decision.

If the 35-year-old pass-catcher does come back, it’s expected the Chiefs will either cut him and re-sign him to a more team-friendly deal (they could save $17.25 million if they cut him pre-June 1) or they’ll extend his contract and create roughly $12.79 million in additional cap space.

And while fans agonize over whether or not they’ve watched Kelce’s final game, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach may have provided a glimmer of hope at the NFL combine on Tuesday that Kelce isn’t don’t yet.

“How we left at the end of the season is that he was fired up,” Veach told reporters. “I think we left it as he’d be back and were excited to get him back and get him going.”

If Veach’s remarks weren’t enough to lift the spirits of Chiefs fans, perhaps what quarterback Patrick Mahomes told the Daily Mail about Kelce possibly retiring will.

He can play as long as he wants to,” Mahomes said. “He’s focused on the ultimate mission of being the best football player that he can be. More than anything — more than I think he wants to even do it for himself — he just loves being in the building with his teammates and being a part of that.”

The QB-TE duo shared a touching private moment in the closing minutes of their 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59 that had some fans believing Kelce was leaning toward calling it a career.

“Love you, brother,” Mahomes told Kelce, to which the 10-time Pro Bowler responded, “Forever, dawg; you know that. I owe you a lot for what you’ve done.”

However, some might interpret Mahomes’ remarks to the Daily Mail as those of a teammate not convinced Kelce’s played his last down in the NFL, which would fall in line with what the All-Pro said in the week before the Super Bowl about what his future holds.

“Where will I be in three years? Oh man, I don’t know,” Kelce said. “Hopefully still playing football. I love doing this, I love coming into work every day and I feel like I still got a lot of good football left in me, but we’ll see what happens. … For the most part, I plan on being a Kansas City Chief and playing football.”