The Kansas City Chiefs lost their fourth game in five weeks on Sunday, and analysts are starting to weigh in on whether the dynasty is finally over. After 10 straight seasons of making the playoffs and dominating the NFL, the Kingdom is in danger of missing the postseason altogether. Regardless of what happens moving forward, Stephen A. Smith believes this could be the end of the road for the veteran tight end of the team, Travis Kelce.
Advertisement
Kelce has been a pillar for the Chiefs for 13 seasons. He’s spent his entire career in KC and has led the team in receiving by season’s end seven times. Even at 36, he currently leads the team in receptions (60), targets (83), and yards (727), and is tied for the team lead in TDs (5).
Despite the stellar play late in his career, Stephen A. believes that the Chiefs will need to find a new tight end this offseason.
“The fact is you’re going to get a new tight end because I think Travis Kelce is going to retire,” Stephen A. stated on First Take.
Later on, the analyst reinforced his argument, saying he believes Kelce only came back this season because of how the Chiefs exited the Super Bowl in February. But now, with the team in danger of missing the playoffs altogether, he could see the tight end hanging up his cleats by the end of the year.
“I think Travis Kelce is going to retire.” @stephenasmith reacts to the Chiefs after their SNF loss to the Texans ✍️ pic.twitter.com/9WjvmYxiRF
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 8, 2025
Smith went on to highlight the struggles the Chiefs have faced all year with their offensive line and how this season’s plan wasn’t sustainable.
“When you look at the offensive line right now and the lack of protection, not only did you have three guys down in Josh Simmons, Trey Smith, and Juwaan Taylor. But this kid Morris goes down and has to get carted off the field, and you end up with a fifth-string tackle,” Stephen A. pointed out. “They’re decimated on the offensive line, and that’s a big time. Problem. You fix that, and you don’t have these problems.”
It’s quite true. Wanya Morris was set to take over at left tackle last night on the line for the Chiefs. But he unfortunately was injured on the first play of the game. It was a nasty leg injury that he suffered, and he was carted off the field. This forced a fifth-string undrafted rookie tackle named Esa Pole to enter the game, who actually played admirably on short notice.
Despite the offensive line issues and Kelce’s impending retirement, though, this doesn’t mean Smith believes that the Chiefs need to completely revamp their roster next season.
“Patrick Mahomes is there with Rashee Rice, with Xavier Worthy, with Thornton there; I don’t think you look at the Kansas City Chiefs and say, ‘Oh my god, they’ve gotta totally re-tool.’ They just gotta buffer up the offensive line, get guys healthy,” Stephen A. concluded.
Let’s hope that’s all they need to do, because Kansas City has looked out of sorts all season. Every time they gain momentum, it gets thwarted. Plays and calls that usually go their way have been going against them. It feels like the football Gods are punishing them for all of those years where things went their way.
All in all, if the Chiefs miss the playoffs, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Kelce retire. But it also would be, in a sense, given that he came back to correct how badly he and the team played in the Super Bowl last season. Wouldn’t he want to go out on top with a Lombardi Trophy in hand?
The issue is that it feels far-fetched at the moment. And with how much Kelce is costing the team in terms of salary cap, it could be hurting their potential to spend money on other important positions. But he’s a future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest of all-time, so if he wants to come back, surely, the Chiefs will welcome him with open arms.
