Brett Veach on Travis Kelce: I still think he has that fire and desire to play

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce recently said on his podcast that he'd like to take some time before deciding if he's going to keep playing in 2025.

Head coach Andy Reid and General Manager Brett Veach were both asked about the star tight end at this year's scouting combine and their answers differed a bit.

Reid, who spoke first, noted that he encouraged Kelce to just get away for a while before choosing a definitive course.

"[T]hat’s up to Travis. At this point, you get out of town and relax. That’s kind of my motto for these guys," Reid said. "They’ve played a lot of games for consistent seasons here. So you get to the end of the [season], you’ve exhausted yourself mentally and physically — step back and take care of that, then we’ll talk. But for right now, I know that’s what he’s doing.

"And he and I will get together — listen, we had exit meetings with all the guys before they left. So we did have a chance to talk."

Veach, on the other hand, effectively said that he's expecting Kelce to play for Kansas City in 2025.

"I’m not sure how coach answered that — how we left it at the end of the season is that he was fired up," Veach said. "He has one more year under contract and still think he has that fire and desire to play. As far as I’m concerned, there is no deadline. I think we left it at he’d be back and we’re excited to get him back and get him going."

Kelce, 35, caught 97 passes for 823 yards with three touchdowns in the regular season before posting 13 receptions or 175 yards with a TD in three postseason games.

While Kelce has been an integral part of the Chiefs’ offense for years, he has acknowledged that the number of games he’s played and getting ready to play them year after year can be a grueling process.

Reporting has indicated that Kansas City would like to know Kelce’s plans by mid-March. But if Veach is correct, then the Chiefs are already well aware that the tight end will be back for 2025.