Kansas City Chiefs fans knew that the 2025 NFL season could be the last campaign for legendary tight end Travis Kelce. After falling just short in last year's Super Bowl, the fan base was surely hoping that the team could send Kelce off the right way this year, by hoisting his fourth Lombardi Trophy.
However, this season has been anything but the swan song that Chiefs fans and Kelce expected it to be. They were eliminated from the postseason with multiple games left on the schedule, and Patrick Mahomes, the yin to Kelce's yang, is likely to miss the early part of the 2026 campaign.
Nobody could blame Kelce for not wanting to go through all of this again, and it is an understatement to say that he has plenty of post-football adventures and professional journeys to go on when he finally hangs up his cleats. But Kansas City fans don't want to see Kelce go out like this.
Chris Jones wants Travis Kelce to give it one more chance in Kansas City
As he left GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for perhaps the final time following a Christmas loss to the Denver Broncos, Kelce seemed like he was soaking it all in. As if he knew that he was experiencing the post-game love in Kansas City and walking past the Chiefs' faithful for the last time.
One road game against the Las Vegas Raiders stands between the team and the end of their brutal 2025 campaign, and after that, there is no telling what Kelce may do. Chris Jones, who has been right by Kelce's side for this dynasty, made his feelings known about what he wants Kelce to do.
"He's been like a brother. ... I hope he gives it one more year. Just one more."Chris Jones on Travis Kelce
It is hard to imagine that all of his teammates and all those supporting this organization don't feel the same way. Like a kid who doesn't realize that their parents, too, are growing old alongside them, Kelce being an aging veteran and on the brink of retirement sort of snuck up on fans.
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The Chiefs were the greatest dynasty since the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots, and were on their way to being one of the best teams of all time. But at the drop of a hat, Kansas City is out of the playoffs, without their star quarterback, and perhaps on the verge of seeing Kelce call it quits.
It was poetic, in a way, to see Kelce be fairly quiet all game on Thursday and then show up just when the team needed him to. That is who he has always been. It was also emblematic of this season, unfortunately, to see that his coming through wasn't enough.
Regardless of what Kelce decides to do, he will forever be enshrined as a legend in the NFL, and in particular, in Kansas City. His clock for Canton starts the minute he retires, whenever that is, and he'll undoubtedly be a first-ballot player. But his legacy extends far beyond that, especially in Chiefs lore.
Chris Jones is all of Chiefs country when he said that he wants Kelce to return for another campaign in Kansas City. That way, this organization that he has given his everything to can send him off the right way.
But whatever Kelce decides, the fan base will support. The third-rounder in the 2013 NFL Draft has given this franchise and fan base way more than they could have ever dreamed of.