Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs suffered yet another brutal loss on Sunday night, falling to the Houston Texans by a final score of 20-10.
With the loss, the Chiefs’ hopes of making a comeback and getting into the playoffs are almost gone. They hold a 16 percent chance of getting into the playoffs. Also, they fell to 6-7 on the season.
In recent years, Kansas City has been the favorite in the AFC and most of the time throughout the entire NFL. Fans have become used to expecting the Chiefs to be playing in the Super Bowl. This season is almost certainly going to change that expectation.
After losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl last season, Kelce’s future became a hot topic of conversation. He decided to return for another season, but retirement is still very close on the horizon.
Keeping that in mind, Stephen A. Smith spoke out with a fiery take about Kelce following Kansas City’s loss to the Texans. He thinks the end has come for the longtime star tight end.
During an appearance on “First Take” on Monday morning, Smith made it clear that he thinks Kelce’s NFL run has come to an end.
“As for their future sure-fire Hall-of-Famer Travis Kelce, I think this is the end for him,” Smith said. “I think we all knew he just came back because of the way they went out in the Super Bowl against the Eagles.”
Smith could be correct with his assessment of the situation. Or, it’s quite possible that Kelce will have no interest in finishing his NFL career out with the season the Chiefs have had. He might opt to come back for one more year to try and go out on a winning note.
Missing the playoffs would be tough to hang up a legendary career on. Coming back for one more season and leaving Kansas City as a championship contender once again might be of interest to Kelce.
So far this season for the Chiefs, Kelce has played in 13 games. He has racked up 60 receptions for 727 yards and five touchdowns.
Those numbers are down a bit from last year in multiple categories. He produced 97 catches for 823 yards and three scores in 2024.
Perhaps this is the end for Kelce, but a return in 2026 should not be counted out. Regardless of when he chooses to retire, Kelce will go down as one of the best tight ends in league history.
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