Travis Kelce outlines what his potential retirement timeline looks like

Who would have thought in 2013 when the Kansas City Chiefs spent a third-round pick on Cincinnati tight end Travis Kelce that he'd go on to become the best tight end not only in Chiefs history but potentially in NFL history? Considering Chiefs fans were fortunate to have 12 years of Tony Gonzalez, not many people would have had that on their bingo card.

Well, Kelce has been a Hall of Fame-level tight end during his Kansas City tenure but the fact of the matter is that he's closer to the end of his career than he is to the beginning of it and the All-Pro knows it.

While hosting his popular New Heights podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, the two discussed Jason's recent retirement and when Travis might look to step away from the game.

“… I know I can go out there and catch a flat route and turn it into a 15-20-yard gain and make a few guys miss, the moment that I can’t do that, I think that’s when I’m going to be when I’m like, 'All right, what am I doing this for?'," said Kelce.

"I get excitement out of catching a ball, splitting a bunch of defenders and getting a huge first down when nobody expected me to do it. Or I scored a huge touchdown in a playoff game in the fourth quarter when the team needed it the most. The moment that I can’t do that, and I’m playing it at an average or a less of a successful level than I am right now, I think that’s when I’m probably going to call it quits.”

Travis Kelce discusses when he knows it'll be time to retire

Kelce is entering his 12th NFL season and failed to tally 1,000 yards receiving this past season. It was the first time since 2015 (his third year in the league) that he failed to get over the 1,000-yard mark. He also had his lowest touchdown total (5) since 2019.

Chiefs fans aren't dumb. They know that Kelce's career will be coming to an end soon so it's best to just sit back and enjoy watching him play while we still have the honor of doing so.