The Kansas City Chiefs are fully immersed in the 2025-26 NFL offseason as they look to bounce back after shockingly missing the playoffs last season. One of the big questions for the Chiefs this winter is whether or not tight end Travis Kelce will come back for another year, or if he will choose to retire instead.
Recently, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach got 100% honest on how the team is preparing for both scenarios, saying that the team is “taking a different approach with Travis in the sense that we've kind of prepared for either scenario,” per Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star on X, formerly Twitter.
“Coach had mentioned on Friday that he's had great dialogue with Travis. On our end, myself, Chris Shea, Travis' crew, we've had some good dialogue there, and I'm sure we're going to see them here, just as we will all of the other players' agents, and we'll continue that dialogue. But Travis is the best, he's an icon, and hopefully he comes back, and we'll just kind of let that process play out,” he added.
Kelce has seen a major dip in production over the last couple of years for the Chiefs as he continues to age, having made several costly mistakes for the team, especially toward the beginning of this past season, including accidentally running into Xavier Worthy during a game against the Los Angeles Chargers, and turning a sure touchdown into an interception against the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, Kelce is still clearly a beloved figure within the Chiefs organization, even if the team won't be able to center much of their offense around him anymore going forward.
Meanwhile, Kansas City is desperately hoping that Patrick Mahomes is ready to go for next season after an ACL tear cut his 2025 season short.
NFL free agency is slated to get underway in March.
