Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes says Travis Kelce not acting like someone who may be going into their ‘last ride’

If Travis Kelce’s current attitude is any indication of his future plans, Patrick Mahomes doesn’t expect his longtime teammate to hang up his cleats after the upcoming NFL season. 

Mahomes, who has enjoyed a historic partnership with Kelce since becoming the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018, was recently asked about the 2025 season possibly being the final one for the future Hall of Fame tight end. 

“If it’s the last ride, you would never know,” Mahomes said of the 35-year-old Kelce. “The way he’s talking about football, the way he’s talking about working and trying to be even better this year than he was last year. He doesn’t seem like a guy that, it’s his last ride or he’s tired of the job. He’s in here, he’s working. I know his body feels good. I think it feels better than even last year before going into last season. 

“I think he’s motivated to go out there and have an even better year.” 

Kelce possibly having extra motivation makes sense when you consider how things went for him in 2024. While it was still a good season by most standards, 2024 was a dip below Kelce’s typical output. His 823 receiving yards and three touchdown catches in the regular season represented his lowest totals since his rookie season way back in 2013. 

In the playoffs, Kelce came up big in Kansas City’s divisional round win over Houston, catching seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. But he caught just six passes for 58 yards in the Chiefs’ final two games of the season. Kelce only caught four passes for 39 years in Kansas City’s blowout loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. Worse than that, Kelce failed to give maximum effort on several plays; he admitted afterwards that he “wasn’t at his best” during Kansas City’s 40-22 loss. 

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Bryan DeArdo

After a so-so 2024 season, it’s clear that Kelce is motivated to return to his dominant self in 2025, regardless of whether or not it will be his last season in the NFL.