Travis Kelce is officially back for a 14th NFL season and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is hoping that his 14th season ends better than his 13th season did. As we all know, the Chiefs put together their worst season under Andy Reid in 2025, finishing with just six wins and Patrick Mahomes missing time due to injury.
Kelce said on The New Heights podcast that going out on a losing season just didn't sit right with him. He also said that he knew he was going to return for 2026 midway through the 2025 season but wanted to take some time to sit with the emotions.
"You got to let the emotions clear and you got to have a clear head. I've made decisions based off of emotions and you know, they haven't always played out the right way. So I think taking a step back, letting the emotions settle down, the frustrations from the season... Of course, I want to come back. Of course I don't want to end my career not making the playoffs and not having one of the best years. It still felt like I was hungry enough to get back at it and obviously there's still a little bit of that grit and that emotion," Kelce said. "I f***ing hated the way that s*** ended last year... I want to make it right, you know? ... And I wanna get another chance at another f***ing Super Bowl, man."
Travis Kelce says he couldn't go out on a losing season
This all makes perfect sense. Kelce had never experienced a losing season during his pro career and had not missed the playoffs since 2014, which was his second year as a pro. Of course he didn't want to end his career on the ugliness that was the 2025 season.
Not only did the Chiefs struggle in 2025 but Patrick Mahomes missed the final few weeks of the season due to injury so Kelce didn't even get to finish out the season with his quarterback. That seemingly made the decision to come back easier for Kelce and now the 36-year-old tight end will give it another go hoping for better results.
As he noted there at the end, he obviously wants another shot at a Super Bowl. If the Chiefs were to get there and win another one, it'd give Kelce four Super Bowl rings, which would be just another notch on the belt for him.
Chiefs fans are obviously ecstatic that Kelce is returning for another year and hopefully, this season ends better than 2025 did.