Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce declined to comment Friday on whether he will be returning to the NFL in 2026.<\/p>\n
Kelce was asked<\/a> about his NFL future five days after the Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention, while losing Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL, in a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.<\/p>\n “I’d rather just keep the focus of the media and everything on this team, right now,” Kelce answered. “All the conversations that I have with the team, and everything moving forward, will be with them. I think it’s a unique time in my life, and unfortunately, I’ve got three games left and I know when the season ends this year. Typically, we go into it, and we don’t know when it’s going to end, and that’s the beauty of it.<\/p>\n “Just trying to make sure that everybody here knows that I’m focused on trying to win football games, these last three games.”<\/p>\n After a Sunday matchup at the Tennessee Titans, the Chiefs are set to wrap up the 2025 season with a Christmas Day home game against the Denver Broncos followed by a Jan. 4 matchup at the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n Kelce is currently set to hit unrestricted free agency after his two-year, $34.25 million deal<\/a> with the Chiefs expires following the season.<\/p>\n Mahomes underwent surgery on his knee injury less than 24 hours after suffering the injury, according to the team.<\/p>\n Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder said<\/a> Wednesday that quick turnaround means there is a possibility Mahomes will recover in time for Week 1 of the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n Burkholder noted, however, that Mahomes’ recovery timeline could vary anywhere from seven to 11 months.<\/p>\n That opens up the possibility Kelce, should he re-sign with the Chiefs, would be starting out his 14th NFL season without his star quarterback.<\/p>\n Kelce, who will turn 37 next October, has marked a few notable off-field milestones in the last few years including a deal<\/a> for his New Heights podcast reportedly worth more than $100 million and his engagement<\/a> to Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n Jason Kelce, who retired from the NFL after the 2023 season and co-hosts New Heights, recently said on a Monday Night Football broadcast he felt his brother needed to “step away from the game for a little bit” in order to decide on his retirement.<\/p>\n