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Essentials Inside The Story

  • Kelce’s future clouds Kansas City as retirement chatter grows louder
  • Andy Reid confirms Kelce will play Week 18 amid swirling speculation
  • One final game could define the tight end’s Chiefs legacy

Travis Kelce has been the soul of the Chiefs’ offense for the last 13 years. It feels unfair to lose a player like him, especially when the team has hit the lowest of the lows. This season marked the end of their 11-year playoff streak. Per reports, the 36-year-old is nearing the twilight of his career and could be considering a retirement. While a retirement decision is still in the air, Kelce issued a deadline on how long his athletic prime will last in terms of other sports outside of football.

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“I can definitely dunk, though. I’ll have that in the bag till I’m at least like 50,” Kelce said on his New Heights Podcast on Wednesday.

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Travis, with his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, was interacting with WNBA star Caitlin Clark in a recent episode of their podcast. The trio was discussing whether the elder Kelce could dunk a basketball when Caitlin asked Travis if he could do it. Immediately, the Chiefs’ star responded with a resounding yes and shared how long he could continue showcasing his athleticism.

It is not a surprising admission, to be honest. Back in high school, Travis used to be a multi-sport athlete. He played baseball, football and basketball at Cleveland Heights High. He was an excellent forward for the Tigers and was known for his dunking skills. That is only when he came to college at Cincinnati; he had to make a conscious decision to fully commit to their football program and make a career out of it.

The timing of his comments is also interesting considering how Travis Kelce has continued maintaining suspense regarding his future in the NFL. This is something that his head coach, Andy Reid, has also alluded to in a recent media interaction after the Chiefs’ 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos in the Christmas Day game. Reid was asked about Kelce’s five-catch, 76-yard performance and his future with the team.

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“It was great to see him get a couple of those catches. Those were big catches,” Andy Reid said before addressing his future with the Chiefs. “We’ll talk another time about all of that,” he added.

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Travis Kelce wins respect of rival coach ahead of Week 18 faceoff

The Kansas City Chiefs will close out their 6-10 season against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. This could also be the last game for star tight end Travis Kelce, who has been reportedly contemplating retirement at the end of this season.  When asked about Kelce’s status for the game, head coach Andy Reid ended the conversation with a simple “Yes.”

It turns out, the Raiders are already a fan of Kelce and would want to give him a perfect sendoff. However, the only condition is that he must play terribly.

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“If this is his last game, I hope it’s a terrible game. And he wouldn’t expect anything else from us, I think. But it’s been a privilege to go against him,” Raiders DC Patrick Graham said with a hearty chuckle in last week’s presser.

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If this indeed is when Kelce decides to hang up his boots, the 36-year-old will end his career as one of the most decorated tight ends in NFL history. He has recorded 12,990 receiving yards and 82 touchdowns while winning three Super Bowls. He is an 11-time Pro Bowler, a seven-time All-Pro and owns the record for most consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons as a tight end (7) and most receiving yards by a tight end (1,416) in a single season.

Even as the retirement chatter intensifies, his presence still defines the Chiefs’ identity. If this is the final chapter, Kansas will be watching history take its last bow.

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