What Should the Chiefs Do With Travis Kelce?

Would the Kansas City Chiefs really cut tight end Travis Kelce this NFL offseason?

Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) reacts on the field after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs will have a whole lot of difficult decisions to make this offseason, but there seems to be momentum building toward them making a very strange one: cutting Travis Kelce.

Multiple people have suggested that the Chiefs should part ways with Kelce, who carries a cap hit of $19.8 million next season.

The latest person to propose such an idea is ESPN's Aaron Schatz, who feels that releasing the superstar tight end could be an option for Kansas City.

"This would be a very unpopular move, but Kelce's contract is set up as an easy way for the Chiefs to gain cap space for 2025," Schatz wrote.

The Chiefs do have a rather turbulent salary cap situation heading into the offseason, making it exceedingly difficult for them to genuinely improve the roster. But Schatz feels that cutting bait with Kelce could help in solving that.

"According to Roster Management System, cutting Kelce would cost the Chiefs only $2.5 million in dead money while saving them over $17 million on the salary cap," Schatz wrote. "That's important with the Chiefs currently having negative effective cap space."

Kelce hauled in 97 receptions for 823 yards and three touchdowns this past season, resulting in his 10th consecutive Pro Bowl selection.

While it's clear that the 35-year-old is declining, he remains Patrick Mahomes' most dependable option, and the chances of Kansas City actually cutting him seem slim to none.

Of course, Kelce could always make the decision to retire, which would take the Chiefs' off the hook for the final year of his deal. But would the future Hall-of-Famer really want to call it quits after such an embarrassing Super Bowl loss? We'll see.

Regardless, Kansas City definitely has a whole lot of work to do in the coming months, as it must patch up its offensive line while also adding some more weapons for Mahomes, who clearly needs help going into 2025.

The Chiefs are thin on playmakers as it is, which makes it that much more unlikely that they will release Kelce. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

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