{"id":124319,"date":"2025-12-02T06:17:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T06:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=124319"},"modified":"2025-12-02T06:17:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T06:17:39","slug":"retirement-watch-the-chiefs-are-reportedly-growing-uneasy-as-subtle-shifts-in-travis-kelces-role-raise-questions-they-can-no-longer-ignore-especially-with-retirement-talks-circling-more-oft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=124319","title":{"rendered":"RETIREMENT WATCH: The Chiefs are reportedly growing uneasy as subtle shifts in Travis Kelce\u2019s role raise questions they can no longer ignore, especially with retirement talks circling more often. Someone inside the team hinted \u201cthere are things everyone notices but no one wants to say out loud.\u201d Coaches continue dodging inquiries about Kelce\u2019s readiness, adding another layer of tension. And now the biggest curiosity is whether this change is temporary\u2026 or the first sign of a major decision looming..ll"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2248776995-1.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2248776995-1.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2248776995-1.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2248776995-1.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Chiefs Face 'Concern' Over Travis Kelce's Role as Retirement Looms\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>The NFL has announced its final decision on punishment for the Colts player involved in a Travis Kelce incident during their Kansas City Chiefs game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce opted to return for the 2025 season rather than head off to retirement, then showed that he still has plenty left in the tank.<\/p>\n<p>Kelce has 59 catches for 719 yards and five touchdowns, on pace for one of his best scoring seasons, and has been among the league\u2019s best pass-catchers in yards after catch. But that role has raised concern among one insider who sees a potentially dire sign for the team\u2019s future once Kelce is gone.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Chiefs Lean Heavily on Travis Kelce<\/h2>\n<p>Though Kelce has been a major piece of Kansas City\u2019s sustained dynasty and three Super Bowl wins, his production this season is raising some concerns.\u00a0SI.com writer Dominic Minchella suggested that the team\u2019s younger receivers should be stepping up to begin replacing Kelce\u2019s production as he nears retirement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the season, Kelce will need to decide whether or not he will be returning to the Chiefs in 2026. With that question mark hanging over the head of the organization, it\u2019s both a blessing and a curse that the veteran contemplating retirement is still leading the Chiefs in a very important offensive category,\u201d Minchella wrote, referring to his prowess in racking up yards after the catch.<\/p>\n<p>Minchella noted that the Chiefs have only one other player in the top 20 in the league when it comes to yards after the catch, with Rashee Rice ranked No. 18.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\">\u201cYes, it\u2019s nice for the nostalgia aspect that a legend of the game has continued to find his stride in the offense and continues to keep up with some of the league\u2019s best,\u201d Minchella wrote. \u201cBut, it is a tad concerning that the likes of Rashee Rice or Xavier Worthy aren\u2019t in his position, considering they\u2019re \u2018the future\u2019 of the franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Travis Kelce Faces Rare Outcome<\/h2>\n<p>The Thanksgiving loss to the Dallas Cowboys dropped the Chiefs to 6-6, which put them at 10th place in the AFC after the rest of the games that weekend concluded. They now sit two full games out of a playoff spot and have missed out on tiebreakers with two of the teams ahead of them.<\/p>\n<p>If the Chiefs don\u2019t turn their season around quickly, it would put Kelce at risk of missing the playoffs for the first time since his second season in the NFL in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said the team will likely need to run the table over their final five games to have a chance of making the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to play a lot of good teams coming up,\u201d\u00a0Mahomes said. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to make the playoffs, we\u2019re going to have to win them all. That\u2019s got to be the mindset when we step into the [team facility] when we get back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mahomes added that he still has confidence in his team, but they need to start playing to their standards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can beat anybody, but we\u2019ve shown that we can lose to anybody,\u201d Mahomes said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be more consistent. We\u2019ve had big plays and we\u2019ve had runs where we can really score at any time, but we\u2019ve got to be consistent for four quarters, especially when you play good teams and they have a good offense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training &amp; Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Chiefs are facing concerns over the role Travis Kelce plays and the relative lack of production from younger players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":124320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>RETIREMENT WATCH: The Chiefs are reportedly growing uneasy as subtle shifts in Travis Kelce\u2019s role raise questions they can no longer ignore, especially with retirement talks circling more often. Someone inside the team hinted \u201cthere are things everyone notices but no one wants to say out loud.\u201d Coaches continue dodging inquiries about Kelce\u2019s readiness, adding another layer of tension. And now the biggest curiosity is whether this change is temporary\u2026 or the first sign of a major decision looming..ll - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=124319\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RETIREMENT WATCH: The Chiefs are reportedly growing uneasy as subtle shifts in Travis Kelce\u2019s role raise questions they can no longer ignore, especially with retirement talks circling more often. Someone inside the team hinted \u201cthere are things everyone notices but no one wants to say out loud.\u201d Coaches continue dodging inquiries about Kelce\u2019s readiness, adding another layer of tension. 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