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The Kansas City Chiefs were embarrassed by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59, losing by a score 40-22. The Chiefs trailed 24-0 at halftime due to a putrid performance by the offense, as star quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions that directly led to 14 points for the Eagles. Travis Kelce had only four catches on six targets, and on Tuesday, Kansas City's general manager, Brett Veach, said Kelce was sick during the game, which would help explain his poor performance.
#Chiefs GM Brett Veach told me Travis Kelce “was battling with a pretty big illness” before the Super Bowl. But the team doesn’t believe that loss to the #Eagles will be Kelce’s last game. At age 35, “I think that Travis is excited to come back.”
Full interview on The Insiders: pic.twitter.com/aJrFtsW6Dw
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 26, 2025
“He was battling with a pretty big illness before the Super Bowl,” Veach told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. “But the way the Eagles played, it would not have made a difference.”
Veach also said in this interview that he expects Kelce to return to the Chiefs next season, with Pelissero's colleague, Ian Rapoport, reporting the same news earlier in the day from the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Kelce did say he was going to take some time to make the decision, but he does have to make it soon.
If Kelce is coming back, the Chiefs need a better version than the one they got in 2024. His 823 receiving yards were the lowest of his career, as were his three touchdowns and 8.5 yards per reception. If they get one more season of classic Kelce, Kansas City could be right back in the Super Bowl next year.
Kelce's contract expires after the 2025 season. so if he does decide to return to the field, it could conceivably be his final campaign. The Chiefs have already started building their post-Kelce tight-end room, bringing Noah Gray into the fold. Gray had 437 yards and five touchdowns this season on just 49 targets.
The Chiefs have a lot of questions to answer this offseason, but it doesn't look like they will have to worry about the tight end position just yet, as Travis Kelce is expected to be back. And if he can stay healthy, he could end up putting an exclamation point on his Hall of Fame-caliber career.
