“This would be my message to Trav: ‘Big dawg, like, we, the whole organization, can’t go out like that,’ ” Omenihu said Thursday on Fox Sports’ The Facility.
Kelce, 35, has said since the Chiefs’ 40-22 drubbing in Super Bowl LIX at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles that he plans to “take some time” before deciding whether he’ll return for a 13th NFL season.
Omenihu understands why Kelce might be considering it but believes he has so much left to give as the Chiefs try to pick up the pieces from the Super Bowl and add to their legacies.
“He’s a Hall of Famer from the moment he says, ‘I’m done,’ right?” Omenihu said of Kelce. “But I think Trav has a lot left, I think Trav is an extreme competitor, I think he’s somebody that loves the game. I think in the storied career that he’s had, going out like that, in my opinion, wouldn’t be something that he would do.”
That’s why Omenihu thinks Kelce will end up deciding he’s playing next season: Too much unfinished business.
“So I believe that he’ll be back,” Omenihu said. “I believe he’ll give it one more go.”
Kelce spoke about his unclear future with a subdued tone on his podcast, and it’s not hard to see why. The Chiefs were one game from becoming the NFL’s first Super Bowl champ in three straight seasons but were manhandled by the Eagles, trailing 34-0 before they even crossed midfield.
The low point for Omenihu, and the moment he knew there was no coming back, was “when (Eagles backup QB) Kenny Pickett got in the game.” Omenihu called the loss “embarrassing” but also said he didn’t think the Super Bowl loss would be “something that will linger on” for the Chiefs.
“I think they’ll take it in, we’ll all take it in, chew it up, spit it out and be ready for next year,” he said.
Omenihu, 27, is a free agent and doesn’t know yet whether he’ll be back in Kansas City next season after a few injury-plagued years there. But if he is back, he wants Kelce with him in what could be a quick rebound back to the top of the NFL again.
“We have guys coming back,” Omenihu said. “Rashee (Rice) is gonna be back, so that’s gonna help out the offense. I think whatever holes that the team has, coach (Andy) Reid and (general manager) Brett (Veach) do a great job of getting on top of it real quick. They’re not gonna overlook anything that may have been a reason why we didn’t come out on top. So it’s gonna be a retool, refuel and get back to it.”
Patrick Mahomes also remains under contract. That might end up the ultimate sales point for Kelce in his thoughts about running it back.
“And we have Pat, so you know for a fact that you’re going to the dance,” Omenihu said. “(Kelce is) not coming back to ‘maybe, who knows, we might get to the [playoffs].’ No, you know for a fact you’re going to be in there and probably a fact you’re going to be in that championship game.”
