When the Las Vegas Raiders’ defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, was going against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7, he knew his team had a bigger project than Patrick Mahomes. For him, it was their star tight end, Travis Kelce. His opinion? Kelce catches everything. With a hundred percent catching efficiency in that 31-0 win, the tight end certainly proved him right. So, as they face in the season finale this Sunday, which could be Kelce’s final NFL game, Graham wants him to fulfill another wish, albeit as a joke.

“If this is his last game, I hope it’s a terrible game,” Graham said with a hearty chuckle in a recent presser. “And he wouldn’t expect anything else from us, I think. But it’s been a privilege to go against him. It’s been a heated rivalry here with the Raiders in the past going against them.”

Across 23 career meetings, Kelce hauled in 131 catches in 178 targets for 1,636 yards and 12 touchdowns against Las Vegas. Four of those touchdown grabs came in a single October 2022 game. In fact, he’s had top-notch efficiency against the Raiders in their 13-year rivalry, catching over 73 percent of his intended catches.

His skillset is a reminder that even when the stats dip, Kelce finds ways to devastate. The last seven of these meetings have come against Graham himself in the Raiders. In Week 18, the Chiefs and the Raiders have little on the line except pride and draft positioning.

Kansas City sits at 6-10, its first playoff absence since 2014. Meanwhile, Las Vegas holds the league’s worst record at 2-14, likely securing the first overall pick with a loss. But even against this backdrop, both teams want to end the season on a positive note.

While Travis Kelce can disrupt the defensive coordinator’s plans, Patrick Graham is planning to stop the future Hall of Famer.

“You can have one year, two years, but when you’re talking about somebody who’s gonna have a gold jacket, it was the consistency,” Graham noted. “How he brought his team along, and how he had to teach guys how to win, it’s impressive. So, it’s an honor to be able to go against him and game plan against him. And if it’s the last game plan, I’m hoping it works.”

The Raiders’ DC knows exactly what Kelce brings.

Kelce enters this game with 1,077 career receptions, 12,990 yards, and 82 receiving touchdowns while winning three Super Bowl rings. He’s now earned 11 consecutive Pro Bowl nods and seven All-Pro honors. This season has felt different, though.

The 2013 third-rounder’s 73 receptions for 839 yards and five TDs through 16 games represent a sharp dip. The Chiefs’ offensive collapse, capped off by franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ ACL tear in Week 15, has only accelerated the retirement whispers around Kelce. The question is, is he really hanging up his cleats?

Travis Kelce’s uncertain future

The retirement rumors around Travis Kelce first swirled last season after their Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. But he returned this season and delivered an uneven chapter in his largely dominant career. And now, those rumors are only growing louder with their season ending in Week 18.

Travis himself has remained characteristically nonchalant about the possibility that his last Mahomes-to-Kelce connection already happened in Week 15.

“He’s family now, man,” Kelce had said when the subject arose. “There will definitely never be a goodbye to him. … I’ll always be able to go in the backyard and sling it around with the old Texas gunslinger. If the day has already happened, I can feel content with how many times we connected on the field.”

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But the Chiefs Kingdom doesn’t want to part ways just yet. Chris Oladokun, KC’s third-string quarterback, captured this same sentiment recently.

“Hopefully, it’s not Trav’s last year, but he will make that decision in the offseason,” Oladokun said on the Chiefs’ Insider podcast. “And obviously, everyone in Chiefs Kingdom would love to have him back. The game loves and needs Trav, so we’ll see.”

However, Travis Kelce will take his brother and former NFL player Jason Kelce’s advice: “In my opinion, to nail that decision, you gotta step away from the game for a little bit,” Jason had advised.

The “ifs” and “buts” aren’t going away, not until the KC No. 87 officially announces his retirement, or shuts it all down for one more year by suiting up for 2026. Right now, he’s focused on tormenting the Raiders one more time. And none of it will take away the ultimate and deserved compliment Patrick Graham has already given to the tight end despite his wish for a terrible game.