Travis Kelce will have to face ‘diminished player’ reality: Ryan Clark
Since the Super Bowl 2025 ended in defeat for the Chiefs on Sunday in New Orleans, a lot of the scuttlebutt has been around Travis Kelce’s future in the NFL.
Kelce, 35, has been somewhat vague about where his head is at regarding retirement and did not address the topic when he briefly spoke with reporters after the 40-22 loss to the Eagles on Sunday night.
ESPN analyst and former NFLer Ryan Clark weighed in on the topic on Monday’s “NFL Live” comparing the situation to the crossroads that his older brother Jason found himself in last year before retiring in March.
“Isn’t Trav sort of in the same place our colleague and friend, his brother, Jason Kelce, was in last year?” Clark asked. “Still feeling like you can still do it and you still have it, but you know you don’t have it like you used to. And it’s gonna be based on whether or not Travis Kelce understands he’s a diminished player and is comfortable with that.
“When you’re at the highest of highs, when you’re the best pass-catching tight end in the history of the National Football League, it’s hard to go into a game last night, have two drops, not have any impactful catches or impact on the game. Can Travis Kelce go forward in 2025 and be that person? Especially when so many lucrative opportunities await him in his second career.”
Kelce had four catches on six targets on Sunday night for just 39 yards.
Despite the relatively low impact Kelce had on the game, he still managed to set the record for most career Super Bowl receptions, surpassing Jerry Rice with 35.
The 10-time Pro Bowler has the most playoff receptions of any Chiefs player or player in the NFL for that matter.
“Travis Kelce is going to have to take some time, sit down and know what sort of player he wants to be and what sort of life he wants to live, but he’s earned the right to take his time in doing so,” Clark added.
The comment was similar to one made by Patrick Mahomes after the Super Bowl when he noted that Kelce “has a lot of football left in him” and that “he’ll get to spend some time with his family and make that decision on his own.”
Kelce, who has a hit podcast with brother Jason and is dating music superstar Taylor Swift, has spent his entire 12-year career with the Chiefs after they selected him in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Over that time he’s amassed 1,004 receptions for 12,151 yards and 77 touchdowns.
