Patrick Mahomes Reacts to Travis Kelce, Kenneth Walker News With His Favorite Emojis

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes reacted to news of Travis Kelce reportedly returning to the team for his 14th NFL season. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Travis Kelce is reportedly returning to the Chiefs for his 14th NFL season, and his quarterback, for one, could not be happier.

Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes reacted to news of Kelce’s (expected) return with a social media post on Monday afternoon hyping up his longtime teammate ahead of what might be their last-ever season together.

MORE FROM SI: NFL Free Agency Live Updates

Mahomes shared two photos of him and Kelce, one in what appears to be a locker room and one on the football field. The Chiefs quarterback captioned the post with two simple emojis: an alarm clock and a bow and arrow.

Mahomes sure loves his emojis. The alarm clock one is probably his most-used in his rotation of late; counting this post, he’s used it four times within the last year most likely to signify some variation of the statement that this is his time, the Chiefs’ year and the clock is ticking for the dynasty to be revived this season. The bow and arrow emoji refers to Kelce’s signature walk-out move before games at Arrowhead (it also nicely alludes to one of Taylor Swift’s songs, “The Archer”).

Chiefs star pass-rusher Chris Jones was pretty happy about Kelce’s return as well, posting on his X account: “We’re so back.”

Mahomes and Kelce are entering their 10th season together as two of the most recognizable stars in the NFL. The talented duo own several regular season and postseason records, including the most playoff touchdowns all-time by a quarterback-receiver duo (19). Despite his steadily declining production, Kelce joined Jerry Rice as the only players in NFL history with at least 800 receiving yards in 12 straight seasons.

While some reports speculated that Kelce would talk to other teams this offseason, the 36-year-old signing with a franchise other than the Chiefs—the only NFL home he’s ever known—in 2026 was never really a serious outcome. Kelce is coming off a productive Year 13 campaign in which he tallied 851 receiving yards and five touchdowns across 17 starts. He’s expected to be Mahomes’s No. 1 target yet again, assuming Mahomes make a full recovery from his ACL tear, and will reunite with OC Eric Bieniemy, who Kansas City brought back this offseason.

"He's family now. I think through all the hard work and all the family time that we've had outside the facility and outside the building, there'll definitely never be a goodbye to him," Kelce said last December of potentially leaving Mahomes. "It'll just be like another day in the life with Patty Mahomes. What he's been to my career up to this point, you can't measure it.”

It looks like Kelce’s NFL retirement will have to wait for one more year (surely, this is it). The last two seasons have not been kind to the three-time Super Bowl champ: Kelce and the Chiefs were blown out by the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX and then completely missed the playoffs following their worst season (6-11) to date in the Mahomes era. In what’s more than likely their last dance, Kelce and Mahomes will be looking to take Kansas City back to the top of the throne where they’ve reigned for the last near-decade and make 2026 the most memorable one yet.

Patrick Mahomes celebrates Kenneth Walker’s stunning signing with Chiefs

Not long after the Kelce news broke, the Chiefs reportedly signed star running back and reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker. Mahomes was pretty fired-up about that, too:

LETS GO!! 💪🏽💪🏽 https://t.co/uWTcgunFTi

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) March 9, 2026

Mahomes, Kelce and now Walker? The clock is ticking, indeed.

---