After becoming the first team in NFL history to reach three consecutive Super Bowls from 2022 to 2024, winning back-to-back championships in the process, the Kansas City Chiefs stumbled to 6-11 in 2025. Two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL on Dec. 14, and one question perpetuated: Is the dynasty over?
Well, on Wednesday, the Chiefs drew a clear line in the sand between iterations of the Mahomes era by trading All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams in a blockbuster that, in part, landed them the Rams’ No. 29 overall pick in this April’s 2026 NFL Draft.
Afterward, ESPN’s Chiefs beat reporter Nate Taylor joined Cody & Gold on 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City to discuss the ramifications. Co-host Cody Tapp asked Taylor whether the trade and the Chiefs’ dramatic roster turnover impacted Travis Kelce‘s retirement decision.
It looks like Swifties will have to be football fans for at least one more year.
“He’s coming back, guys,” Taylor said. “Every indication I’ve gotten is that Travis Kelce is looking forward to coming back. When we’ll know that for sure? That’s really his prerogative.”
Taylor added, “They might give him — and I’ve said this before — maybe a two-year deal where you can spread some of that money out and give a pretty nice chunk of signing bonus to get that base salary to be manageable in 2026. And, hey, if you’ve got to eat it in 2027 if he retires, you go ahead and eat it. He’s given you everything you could have asked for already.”
Kelce, 36, has spent his entire career in Kansas City under head coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs drafted him in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. The 11-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro selection formed an all-time great chemistry with Mahomes after the Chiefs drafted him at No. 10 overall in 2017. Kelce, Mahomes, Reid, and All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones have been the core of the Chiefs’ three Super Bowl championships and five Super Bowl appearances since 2019.
After the Chiefs’ nightmarish 2025 season ended, Kelce told reporters he was undecided on whether to retire but would inform the Chiefs of his decision before free agency began. Teams will be allowed to begin negotiating with certain impending free agents on March 9, and the NFL’s new league year and free agency officially open on March 11.
On Jan. 7, Kelce shed light on his decision-making process on his New Heights podcast with his brother, retired All-Pro Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. “If my body can heal up and rest up, and I can feel confident that I can go out there and give it another 18, 20, 21-week run, I think I would do it in a heartbeat,” Kelce said. “Right now, it’s just finding that answer.”
More recently, Kelce shared what he will miss most about football once he retires on Wednesday’s New Heights episode.
“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,” Kelce said, in part.
All signs point toward Kelce not having to get nostalgic just yet.