Chiefs coach Andy Reid sounds optimistic about potential return of Travis Kelce
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Andy Reid says there is ongoing communication with Kelce about a potential return.
- Kelce, 36, had 851 receiving yards in 2025 and is retirement-uncertain.
- If Kelce returns, he would presumably need a new contract as an unrestricted free agent.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid sounded optimistic about tight end Travis Kelce potentially returning for a 14th NFL season.
Reid on Friday said Kelce, who is 36 and mulling retirement, has remained in contact with the club.
“There is communication,” Reid said via Zoom. “That’s the main thing. I’ve said this before to you: as long as there’s communication, I’m good. That means people want to move forward, and I think that’s where Trav is.
“I’m not trying to put words in his mouth at all, and I try to give him some space here. He’s been doing this a long time, and he can sort all that out as he goes forward, but we’re proceeding with that, and there is communication going on.”
Kelce has been viewed as a retirement candidate the past two offseasons, and this current one has been no different.
Shortly after the Chiefs’ final game in 2025, Kelce admitted that last year’s decision felt easier for him. In early January, the Chiefs maintained that they would give him all the time he needed to come to the right one this time around.
Kelce pulled off a bounce-back season in 2025 by finishing fourth in the league among tight ends in receiving yards (851) despite playing three games without starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was injured.
An undiscussed wrinkle in a potential Chiefs return is that Kelce is due to become an unrestricted free agent. So if he does plan on staying on the football field, he would presumably need one final contract.
This story was originally published February 21, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Chiefs coach Andy Reid sounds optimistic about potential return of Travis Kelce."
