Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had a heart-to-heart with Travis Kelce about whether or not he should retire.
“We had a great visit before he left,” Reid, 66, said on the Saturday, March 8, episode of “The Bettor Angle” podcast. “I always tell the guys to ‘Get out of here. Get out and get your mind where it’s not one day after the Super Bowl. Get out there, and relax a little bit. And then let your mind calm down and think about it.’”
After the Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22 at the 2025 Super Bowl, Kelce, 35, had considered not returning for his 13th NFL season with the Chiefs. However, the tight-end confirmed his return for one more season to Pat McAfee on February 27.
“He’s all in,” Reid said on the podcast. “He’s a heck of a player, I mean listen, he’s getting older, but you’re talking about the guy that’s going to go down as, maybe, the best of all time at that position.” He added, “In my eyes, he’s the best. And I guess that’s what counts.”
Earlier this month, Kelce spoke about his decision not to retire on an episode of his “New Heights” podcast, noting that Reid’s influence was one of the factors in his choice to continue with the Chiefs for another season.
“Coach Reid has been one of the biggest influences on my life, not just in the game of football,” Kelce said on the Wednesday, March 5, episode. “And I don’t wanna stop going to work with him, I don’t wanna stop learning from him. I don’t wanna stop being the reason why he has success or being part of the reason he has success.”
Kelce also confessed that his most recent NFL season had left “a bad taste in [his] mouth,” adding, “I love so many people in Kansas City … it’s home for me now. I don’t wanna leave that life yet. I put in a lot of hard work and I put in a lot of focus into being the best that I can for KC and last year it didn’t end well for us.”
Speculation surrounding Kelce’s possible retirement circulated for months before he confirmed his return. The Chiefs’ loss at Super Bowl LIX was the last game in an overall underwhelming season for Kelce, with the tight end only making four catches for 39 yards, making for his worst Super Bowl performance ever.
He added on Wednesday that the Super Bowl loss was “probably the biggest” factor in his decision to come back.
“I feel like there’s a responsibility in me to play out the contract that I initially signed, to give Kansas City and the Chiefs organization everything that I got,” Kelce said. “That’s what I’m gonna do, man.”
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