For all intents and purposes, this Kansas City Chiefs offense has not quite looked like the all-conquering team of the past few years. With Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce wreaking havoc, the Chiefs have been to five Super Bowls and lifted the Lombardi Trophy three times over those last five trips.
This year, however, Kelce appears to have slowed down a little. Over the last 12 years, Kelce has made a strong case to be crowned the best tight end in NFL history but at 35 years old, questions have been raised about whether this will be his last season, especially if the Chiefs win another Super Bowl.
On the "Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams" this week, New England Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski had a thing or two to say about Kelce's future in the league.
“Together, they’re an unstoppable duo. It’s a different situation from Tom and I because Tom was a quarterback who was 10 years older to me and I was the young buck. That’s usually the situation when it comes to a quarterback-receiver duo. This one’s different because Travis is so much older than Patrick Mahomes and they have this chemistry that is unbelievable.
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"With Travis’s career in the future, I believe he can go at least another two years. The guy has 85+ catches this year. We’re talking about his stats being down. Are you kidding me? I just looked at him. 80+ catches this year. How are your stats down if you have 80+ catches at 35 years old? I think I’ve only had 80+ catches one time in my career and I was 22 years old, I had 90 catches that year.”
Gronk's numbers were in the right ballpark. Through Week 16, Kelce has 89 catches for 739 yards and two touchdowns. The Chiefs have spread the offense a little bit this year between rookie Xavier Worthy, veteran DeAndre Hopkins and their running back committee of Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perrine.
Last year, Kelce had 93 catches for 984 yards and five TDs, though he only suited up in 15 games.
Travis Kelce ignites retirement speculation with comments on 'last hurrah'
The Chiefs took on the Browns in Cleveland in Week 15, affording Kelce a trip back home. After the game, on his weekly New Heights podcast, Kelce made some interesting comments about Week 15 being possibly the last time he plays in Cleveland.
"Whether it was my friends being there, my friends' parents being there, you know, my childhood friends' kids now watching me like I was a little kid watching the Browns and it's just, it's so crazy to drive to the stadium.
"I don't know if it's the last time I'll ever play in Cleveland,” Kelce confessed. "But it kind of felt like I was giving it one last hurrah before I'm done."
Both the Kelce brothers studied at Cleveland Heights High School before ultimately etching their names in the NFL's history books.
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