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"If it's the last ride, you would never know," Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes says of Travis Kelce.
"If it's the last ride, you would never know," Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes says of Travis Kelce. originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Whenever tight end Travis Kelce retires, he'll be five years out from being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. When that will come to fruition is unknown.
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Along the path? There has been some mild criticism of Kelce's decline at age 35 ... including Pro Football Focus using its tight end rankings to push him down to the No. 7 slot.
They write ...
'While Kelce has been the second-most-valuable tight end over the past two seasons, per PFF WAR, 2024 represented the lowest-graded season of his career (71.7). Age looks to be catching up to the future Hall of Famer, as his 91.4 PFF overall grade from 2022 appears to be a thing of the past.'
The names at the top of the rankings?
Kelce is between Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson and Philadelphia Eagles veteran Dallas Goedert. Also ahead of him are George Kittle, Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, Mark Andrews, and Sam LaPorta.
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None of this means Kelce is ineffective, of course. Kelce missed virtually his entire rookie season. Since then, he had never posted a year with fewer than eight yards per target, until 2024 when that mark dropped to just 6.2.
After ascending to stardom in 2016, he had never dipped below 65 yards per game until 2024, when his 823 yards came out to just 51.4 yards per game.
His profile has never been higher, of course, in part because of his romance with pop icon Taylor Swift. ... a relationship that is in part the reason the subject of retirement comes up.
But ...
"If it's the last ride, you would never know," teammate Patrick Mahomes said this week at OTAs. "The way he's talking about football. The way he's talking about working and trying to be even better this year than he was last year.
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"He doesn't seem like a guy like it's his last ride, like he's tired of the job."
Kelce's regression, however slight, is a reminder that dynasties don't last forever. But maybe one "last ride'' - if that's what this is - can allow Kansas City to send him to retirement with another Super Bowl ring.
Related: Broadcasting Executive Reveals Key to Chiefs vs. Cowboys on Thanksgiving
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
