Travis Kelce was direct as ever when asked if the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff has approached him about “managing” his snap count Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens.
“No. And I probably wouldn’t listen to them if they did,” Kelce responded on September 3 as reporters laughed around the room.
The superstar tight end kept a straight face throughout the brief exchange, however, shutting down theories that KC could attempt to lighten his workload in 2024 with understudy Noah Gray and rookie Jared Wiley both impressing this summer.
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Still Loves the Game, Not Considering Retirement Heading Into 2024
Kelce has often told reporters that he’s going to keep on playing “until the wheels fall off.” The future Hall of Famer has reiterated that message ahead of the 2024 campaign.
“I’m excited, man. I’m excited,” Kelce said during his September 3 press conference. “Get to play another year of football. Fresh slate. Get to kind of prove to ourselves and Chiefs Kingdom that we’re one of the top dogs [and that] we can play at a high level.”
After a follow-up question, he added that he’s “ready to rock” and that he’s “never been more excited” for an NFL season.
“We’ve got a great team, a great group of guys that are putting all their heart into every single day,” Kelce continued on. “That’s fun to be a part of.”
Earlier in the afternoon on September 3, Kelce also appeared on the Rich Eisen Show. Once again, he was asked about the idea of retirement and when that day may eventually come.
“Man, I’ll tell you what, I’m still enjoying coming to work,” he told Eisen. “I’m not dreading practices.”
“I had my guy Julian Edelman jump on New Heights with me and my brother last year, and he was mentioning how he had to hang it up when he couldn’t go out there and practice,” Kelce explained. “When he couldn’t get out there and work on his craft to feel like he’s accountable for the guys next to him. That’s when he kind of started questioning it.”
Needless to say, that is not the case for Kelce right now.
“I’m just having so much fun,” he concluded. “Just so appreciative and so fortunate that I’ve been able to come into Year 12 and still have this energy and this love and the ability to go out there and get to work.”
He also expressed that there was zero chance that he would ever even consider retiring on the eve of a potential three-peat.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid Hints He Plans to Keep Coaching for Length of New Contract
The only person that gets more retirement questions than Kelce inside the KC organization is Coach Reid himself. That question was asked again on September 3, and Big Red once again swept it aside with ease.
“I signed a five-year deal,” Reid replied on Tuesday of Week 1. “So, we’ll see how all that goes.”
The Chiefs HC did acknowledge that he is “getting older though,” but that was the end of it.
While this isn’t exactly news around the Kansas City community, the comment did spark a funny social media reaction courtesy of former Chiefs offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz.
“Oh no. Here comes a PFT article about Andy Reid retiring before kickoff on Thursday,” Schwartz said upon sharing the quote — referencing the NBC Sports website “Pro Football Talk.”
Chiefs Kingdom has been critical of PFT’s lead reporter Mike Florio for his retirement headlines involving Reid, Kelce and even superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
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Travis Kelce Sends 11-Word Message on Chiefs ‘Managing’ Snap Count