As the clock winds down for the legal tampering period on March 9, so does Travis Kelce’s time to decide on his retirement. In the same shoes last year, he was training for the 2025 season in Florida. This year, he’s preparing for his wedding. However, so far, all signals for a return have been positive, as head coach Andy Reid also dropped an update during the pre-combine press conference.

“There is communication,” Reid said on Friday. “That’s the main thing. I’ve said this before: As long as there’s communication, I’m good. That means people want to move forward. I think that’s where Travis is.

“I’m not trying to put words in his mouth at all, and I try to give him some space here. He’s been doing this a long time, and he can sort all that out as he goes forward. We’re proceeding with that, and there is communication.”

Having a point of contact certainly shows mutual interest on both sides. However, it is important to note how returning to the Chiefs Kingdom next season could only be fruitful for the 36-year-old as well as the Chiefs.

Being the dead last team, $54 million over the salary cap, KC can use someone like Travis Kelce, who, despite his down year in 2025, was still among the top TEs in the league. Moreover, the future Hall of Famer’s projected market value for the next season, according to Spotrac, sits at $10.8 million. It’s still a big number, but hear me out.

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The team opened up $43.5 million in cap space by restructuring Patrick Mahomes’ contract. They have other options, like Chris Jones, to create more space. Additionally, it is significantly lower than Kelce’s $19.5 million cap hit in 2025. Now consider signing a younger tight end.

Sure, the Chiefs get advantages on many fronts, like age, speed, etc. But they also sign uncertainty.

The TE may or may not give them a return on investment; he may or may not be able to learn Bieniemy’s offense as quickly as expected by a team looking for a rebound season. Question marks will certainly exist. However, here’s how sticking to Kelce, at least for one more season, will help them further:

Kelce already knows Bieniemy’s strategies, and the chemistry between the two will only help him improve. Sure, he didn’t have the best season in 2025, but Kelce was a pillar in the Chiefs’ offense. Who can forget his connection with Mahomes? The TE only had a success rate of 61 percent, but many of those came when he realized in the spur of the moment that his quarterback was in trouble and he needed to be open. And poof! He would do something magical with that catch.

Speaking of his telepathic connection with Mahomes, here’s why I think Kelce would very much like to return for a farewell tour:

• Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in the December matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. In that loss, Kelce caught the ball seven of the nine times he was targeted. However, he never knew that catching his final throw that day was going to be the last one ever for the two to ever connect. It was not a special one-on-one catch either. So, all I’m saying is, he might return just to create a memorable season.
• Another factor could be the team’s 6-11 season, where they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014. He’s a competitor through and through. Already, he returned for 2025 to remove the bitter taste that their Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles left in his mouth. He trained for months in Florida during the offseason. Things didn’t go his way. But if a rebounding season was a motivator for him then, it can still be one for him now.
• Then there’s always Bieniemy’s return. Kelce experienced his best seasons under the OC. In fact, the season Bieniemy left to be the assistant head coach & offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders in 2023, Kelce’s performances dropped. In the last three seasons, he has not achieved a 1000-yard milestone. Before that, he had seven consecutive seasons where he reached that mark, and more, making him the legend that he is today.

I would go as far as to predict that Kelce will take a pay cut, if required, just so he can suit up in red and gold for one more year.

As a player with over $111 million in career earnings only from the NFL, money is certainly not going to influence his decision. He has also topped every mountain there is for him to make a strong contender to get the golden jacket in Canton down the line. So what might he consider, you ask? He’s answered that himself.

The Chiefs and Travis Kelce are playing a slow game of Wild Guess

As much as the Chiefs Kingdom wants to see Kelce, his conditions to return remain the same: his health and his family. However, he has also not completely shut the door on a possibility either.

In his exit interview, the TE explained that he hasn’t thought about his future. But in January, with Bieniemy’s reunion becoming real, he told his brother and former Philadelphia player, Jason, that he could not wait to see him in the building.

Time and again, he has also repeated how he would miss the team. And the love for the sport is still there. With the only factors to consider being his health and family commitments, there’s hope that he may return. For one, the team certainly wants it.

“Well, as an organization, we certainly hope that he will come back,” Chiefs CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt said in a guest spot on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on January 27.

“He had another great year, maybe not on par with where he was four or five years ago, but still had over 800 yards, and was really one of the leaders on the offensive side of the ball for us. So there’s no doubt in my mind that he can still play.”

Other players, including veteran Chris Jones, have also wished for his return. The reason is simple on their end: Kelce doesn’t just help put wins on the board but also brings his energy to the locker room.

The team, out of respect, is not pressing Kelce for anything. However, whether he returns or retires, his answer before March 9 would surely help the Chiefs understand their requirements for a rebound year.

Travis Kelce speaks on his future amid retirement questions

Between not choosing to talk to the reporters after the Chargers knocked the Chiefs out of the playoffs and embracing Arrowhead like it’s his last time playing inside it, a potential extension didn’t seem likely. While retirement remains up in the air, there’s one thing certain: his love for the game.

“There’s a lot of love for the game that’s still there, and I don’t think I’ll ever lose that,” Kelce said on the New Heights Podcast. “It’s a tough thing to navigate, but at the same time, if my body can heal up and rest up, and I can feel confident that I can go out there and give it another 18-, 20-, or 21-week run, I think I would do it in a heartbeat.

“I think right now, it’s just finding that answer and seeing how the body feels after this game and kind of when it all settles down.”

How he recovers, physically and mentally, will go a long way in influencing his future. The Chiefs ended the season with a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. He didn’t have a much better individual season, either.

He concluded the year with five scores and 76 receptions for 851 yards, marking the third consecutive year with fewer than 1000 yards. This year wasn’t just about the lack of production, but critical drops against the Texans, Eagles, and Washington that cost the Chiefs.

There’s a chance he comes back if he feels he can do better next year. But until he does, we all can also join them in this game of wild guess.