Tight end Travis Kelce can’t seem to catch a break from being part of rumors and headlines. With retirement talks buzzing around the Kansas City Chiefs‘ star, a former quarterback has added a telling perspective to his career. 49ers legend Alex Smith shared a candid take on how Kelce’s journey could have been entirely different. In his eyes, there’s an important aspect that makes him one of the league’s most dominant tight ends.

While speaking on Real Ones: The League with Fred Warner, Smith made a bold claim addressed to young Travis Kelce.

“I don’t know if Travis becomes Travis if he doesn’t play for Andy Reid. Right” Smith said. “And I mean that for a couple of reasons. For one, you know, the thing I love is about Andy is he lets you be you, right? Like it’s one of his favorite sayings is let your personality show.”

Smith believes it is head coach Andy Reid’s unconventional coaching style that unlocked the Cincinnati graduate’s unique talent. He backed his argument by highlighting how the coach opposes rigid systems and shapes them around his players’ strengths. In his view, this freedom has benefited Kelce, who doesn’t always run routes as they are planned on paper. Instead, he mostly relies on his own intuition, knowledge of coverage and matchup leverage, and ability to find space. This is what makes Kelce impossible to defend. 

The former QB also discussed the early part of the 36-year-old’s career when things weren’t always smooth. He pointed out how Reid had Kelce spend time in the “principal’s office” because of tardiness and mistakes. And yet, the coach balanced discipline with trust, building a “tough love relationship” that only blossomed over the years. That relationship has clearly paid off on the field.

Since joining the Chiefs in 2013, Travis Kelce has reciprocated the efforts with his elite contribution year after year. He recently became the second player in Kansas history to surpass 12,000 combined yards after Dante Hall (12,356). Further, he piled up 1,000 receiving yards every season from 2016 to 2022. He has also earned a Pro Bowl selection each year since 2015. With 839 receiving yards, 73 receptions, and 5 touchdowns, he brought balance to his team, which has witnessed an uneven season this year. But was this his last dance?

Travis Kelce’s NFL future remains in question

With a 6-10 record through Week 17, the Chiefs have already said goodbye to the playoffs. And that means fans won’t see Kelce chasing his fourth Super Bowl ring this year. At 36, the tight end’s retirement has become a big talking point, with speculation only growing louder. They first flared up after Kelce’s appearance on Prime Video for a pre-game interview with Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez. The conversation shifted to his future, and the response was indeed intriguing. 

“I got to hope that if I do want to come back, the Chiefs are willing to bring me back, so it’s a two-way street on that,” he said. “But at the same time, at this point in this year, I’m just trying to finish out and give Chiefs Kingdom everything I got and go out there and do it with some of that flair.”

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Further, Kelce echoed the same uncertainty about his future while speaking after the Chiefs’ Christmas Day loss to the Denver Broncos. 

“I’ll let that be a decision I’ll make with my family, friends, the Chiefs organization when the time comes,” he said via KMBC-TV. 

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, it’s likely that fans saw the last of him at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 17. He emphasized the player plans to take time after the season to reflect on whether he wants to return for a 14th year. While the decision rests with Travis Kelce, his performance has shown he’s far from hanging up his cleats just yet.