With Caveat, Chiefs Get Good News In Latest Travis Kelce Update

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Since the sunset of his 13th NFL season on Jan. 4, Travis Kelce hasn’t had a lot of time to get in shape for Year 14.
But according to insider Dianna Russini, after attending Sunday’s Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, he might be back in the gym preparing for much more than fitting into his tuxedo.

“Kelce was seen bouncing around San Francisco parties and events,” Russini wrote Saturday morning in a story published on The Athletic, “even as the soon-to-be-married man’s next move remains uncertain. While retirement has been discussed, many close to him believe he could return for at least one more season. A final decision has yet to be made, but a 14th season is looking more real than ever.”
That decision could come to fruition Sunday – four months before his June wedding with Taylor Swift -- when Kelce watches the Super Bowl as a fan, the first time in four years he’s not playing in the game.

Super Bowl excitement playing factor?
Could a thrilling Super Bowl provide enough juice to push him over the return-to-play threshold? He’ll at least get a great look at two stellar defenses the Chiefs are scheduled to play in 2026, Seattle and New England.
His bouncing around this week began by taping his New Heights podcast with special guest Julian Edelman, like himself a three-time Super Bowl champion. Edelman earned Super Bowl MVP honors in the Patriots’ last appearance seven years ago.

What Edelman, 2026 Chiefs share in common
Incidentally, Edelman’s New England position coach, Chad O’Shea, has reportedly joined Andy Reid’s staff to replace Connor Embree as Chiefs wide receivers coach. Talking to Edelman, Kelce said, helped him understand the finality of a season’s ending – and the finality of retiring from the game and never catching a pass again from Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes.
“And I kind of got the first like, step back, this year when Pat went down,” Kelce told his sister-in-law on this week’s edition of the Not Gonna Lie podcast, “and we lost the last however many games. And I got to kind of cope with it in that moment, and still be in the building with Coach Reid and the guys that I love in Kansas City, try and make it the best scenario possible as the year ended there.

“And then I have taken a step back and really, like, looked around and like, ‘Man, this run has been crazy,’ and it feels weird not to be doing anything right now.”
Kelce said Edelman still grows his beard out after every football season, even in retirement.

“And I'm just like, ‘Man, I feel exactly what you're saying,’ especially after a long season like that. … But you just, you stop caring about how you look, because you're just going into the building doing the same thing every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. And you just, you get into this mode of like, I'm beat up, but I f---ing love this. And I want to keep going.
“It gets to that point where now I'm like, watching it and, yeah, it stings. It stings especially because I felt like this year's team, in a lot of ways, was better than last year's team. And last year's team, we only lost two games. It was insane.”
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Since his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Zak Gilbert has worked 30 years in sports, including 18 NFL seasons. He's spent time with four NFL teams, serving as head of communications for both the Raiders and Browns. A veteran of nine Super Bowls, he most recently worked six seasons in the NFL's New York league office. He now serves as the Kansas City Chiefs Beat Writer On SI
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