Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was battling an illness when his team lost Super Bowl LIX 40-22 earlier this month, ending the team’s quest for a “three-peat.”
The revelation was made by Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach.
“Listen, we’re never going to make excuses but [Kelce] was battling through a pretty big illness there,” Veach said.
The GM mentioned that Kelce’s mysterious illness, which Veach did not reveal, likely didn’t make much of a difference in the outcome of the game, though. “We didn’t have the end to our season that we hoped for,” he added, saying the team “picked a bad day to have a bad day.”
Veach also promised that the Chiefs would use the big loss as “motivation to get better.”
“You learn more from your losses than your wins,” he said.
The GM addressed rumors that Kelce, 35, is considering retirement. When asked if the tight end would return for the 2025 season, Veach said, “I think so. We anticipate Travis being back. We’re excited to have Travis back.”
Kelce himself sounded less confident when discussing the same topic earlier this month on the “New Heights” podcast he hosts with his brother, former Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce. Jason retired from his NFL career at the end of the 2023 season.
“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. I’m not making any crazy decisions,” Travis said during the episode that aired February 12.
“That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body, and it’s a lot of time spent in the building focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand, every challenge that you set up for yourself, and that process can be grueling,” he continued. “It can weigh on you. It can make you better, it can drive you crazy, at the same time. And right now, it’s one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year.”
While Travis made it sound like he was thinking about what to do for next season, Jason said during a later podcast interview that he believes his brother has already made up his mind. “I think Travis, I think he probably, in his heart, already knows what he wants to do,” the retired NFL star revealed. “That’s the reality of it.”
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[[{“value”:”
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was battling an illness when his team lost Super Bowl LIX 40-22 earlier this month, ending the team’s quest for a “three-peat.”
The revelation was made by Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach.
“Listen, we’re never going to make excuses but [Kelce] was battling through a pretty big illness there,” Veach said.
The GM mentioned that Kelce’s mysterious illness, which Veach did not reveal, likely didn’t make much of a difference in the outcome of the game, though. “We didn’t have the end to our season that we hoped for,” he added, saying the team “picked a bad day to have a bad day.”
Veach also promised that the Chiefs would use the big loss as “motivation to get better.”
“You learn more from your losses than your wins,” he said.
The GM addressed rumors that Kelce, 35, is considering retirement. When asked if the tight end would return for the 2025 season, Veach said, “I think so. We anticipate Travis being back. We’re excited to have Travis back.”
Kelce himself sounded less confident when discussing the same topic earlier this month on the “New Heights” podcast he hosts with his brother, former Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce. Jason retired from his NFL career at the end of the 2023 season.
“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. I’m not making any crazy decisions,” Travis said during the episode that aired February 12.
“That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body, and it’s a lot of time spent in the building focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand, every challenge that you set up for yourself, and that process can be grueling,” he continued. “It can weigh on you. It can make you better, it can drive you crazy, at the same time. And right now, it’s one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year.”
While Travis made it sound like he was thinking about what to do for next season, Jason said during a later podcast interview that he believes his brother has already made up his mind. “I think Travis, I think he probably, in his heart, already knows what he wants to do,” the retired NFL star revealed. “That’s the reality of it.”
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