The Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) enter Week 12 with their backs seemingly against the wall as they prepare to host the Indianapolis Colts (8-2).
Kansas City is coming off a last-second loss to the Denver Broncos, who sit atop the AFC West at 9-2. The Chiefs, meanwhile, sit in third place behind both Denver and the Los Angeles Chargers — unfamiliar territory for a team that has won the division every season since Patrick Mahomes was drafted in 2017.
Veteran tight end Travis Kelce, who’s having a strong season at age 36, spoke about the team’s urgency on this week’s episode of the “New Heights” podcast.
“It’s frustrating because it’s gotten to the point where we’re 5-5, we’re .500 going into the back end of the schedule here, got seven games left, and we basically gotta run the table,” Kelce said. “I haven’t been in this situation in a long, long time, man. It’s even more frustrating knowing the kind of guys we have, the kind of talent we have, the type of coaches we have. Everybody’s just got to look at themselves in the mirror.”
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Kelce is in the final year of his contract with the Chiefs, and on Friday he was asked about his future with the organization after admitting he briefly contemplated retirement following last season’s Super Bowl LIX loss.
“I think seeing my brother go through it, and I don’t know, just seeing how the league works… the season kind of restarts in April,” Kelce said. “I want to give the Chiefs a good opportunity — whether I come back or not. And vice versa, whether they want me back or not. I’d like to make that decision before they’ve got to make draft picks or free agency opens, so they can build the roster appropriately. All that will be at the end of the season, and I won’t be thinking about it until then.”
Travis Kelce is in his 13th NFL season, all of which have come as a member of the Chiefs, where he’s cemented his legacy as one of the greatest tight ends in league history. In last week’s win over the Broncos, he passed Chiefs legend Priest Holmes for the most touchdowns in franchise history.
He has made it clear that he can’t see himself playing anywhere other than Kansas City at this stage of his career. But if, for some unexpected reason, the Chiefs chose not to re-sign him — which would be shocking — and Kelce still wanted to continue playing, that mindset might have to change for the three-time Super Bowl champion.
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