Travis Kelce confirms his return to Chiefs for 2025 season: 'Got a real bad taste in my mouth'

Travis Kelce will return to the NFL for a 13th season in 2025. The Kansas City Chiefs' future Hall of Fame tight end recently confirmed his plans for next season in a text message with former NFL kicker and current podcast/TV show host Pat McAfee. 

McAfee read Kelce's message on TV from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis Thursday. Based on the text, it's clear that the Chiefs' Super Bowl loss to the Eagles has played a factor in Kelce's decision to continue playing. 

"My dog!!! I'm coming back for sure. Gonna try and get into the best shape I've been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop. Got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can't go out like that!!!!" 

Kelce's decision to continue playing isn't terribly surprising after Chiefs general manager Brett Vecch said earlier this week he expects his star tight end to return for the 2025 season. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shared what he told Kelce shortly after the 2024 season came to a close. 

"[I told him] to get out of town and relax," Reid said. "That's kind of my motto for these guys. They played a lot of games for a consistent amount of seasons. At the end of the thing, you've exhausted yourself mentally and physically, step back and take care of that and then we'll talk. For right now, I think that's what he's doing."

After taking some time away, Kelce has apparently made up his mind. Instead of going out with a Super Bowl loss, the three-time Super Bowl champion and 10-time Pro Bowler is coming back with the obvious hope of ending his career on a better note.