Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN football analyst Dan Orlovsky shared his thoughts on whether Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce might retire the most as early as possible.
Kelce, 35, recently completed his 12th season in the league. He finished the regular season with 823 receiving yards, which marked the second straight year the star tight end failed to reach the 1,000 receiving yard mark.
Although Kelce received Pro Bowl honors for a tenth consecutive year and remains a productive player, he is certainly closer to the end of his football career than the beginning. All of this comes as the Chiefs pursue an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl championship. Should the Chiefs ultimately win the Vince Lombardi Trophy next month, Orlovsky believes quitting could become “a very real thing” for the seven-time All-Pro.
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Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs during media day at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa, Henderson. Photo date: Wednesday February 7, 2024. (PA Wire/PA Images via Getty Images)
“Kelce is very capable of making a difference. I think he still has a good run left,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s long-running daytime show “First Take.”
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“I think if he puts on that vintage Kelce performance, which I fully believe, one, I think he’s capable, and two, he will, and they go on and three rounds, I think retirement is becoming a very real thing for Travis Kelce.
“There would be nothing else to accomplish. He would be arguably the greatest tight end of all time. He would be the tight end that was part of [Chiefs] only three rounds in NFL history. He’s obviously later in his career. I don’t think there would be anything left. And I think he still has an elite, awesome, difference-making, vintage, “Oh my God, he did it again” streak in him.
Kelce has faced questions about when he will decide to end his NFL career. During a recent appearance on “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” he admitted that his thoughts on retirement tend to fluctuate, but he plans to “reevaluate” things once he enters the offseason.
Dan Orlovsky looks on before Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
“I love everything I do…but at the end of the day, I’m not as successful on the field,” Kelce said. “I’m excited for these next two games…to finish this season. I’m going to re-evaluate it like I always do, [and] I’ll probably say how much I love this thing, and I’ll come back next year.”
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) scores on a 48-yard touchdown reception during the first half of an NFL playoff football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday 16 January 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
The NFL veteran added that pop star Taylor Swift continues to offer him full support when it comes to his playing career. “She fully encourages me to enjoy playing this game,” Kelce told Smith.
“I’ve had all the support in the world to continue to pursue these dreams,” the three-time Super Bowl winner said, before noting that the “Anti-Hero” singer “loves coming” to the games to watch him play with the Chiefs.
