Chiefs GM, Andy Reid make curious Travis Kelce comments amid uncertainty

Headlines from Tuesday suggested that the Kansas City Chiefs "expect" that star tight end Travis Kelce will return for at least one more season after Kelce hinted earlier this month that he could retire. 

However, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach offered no guarantee about Kelce's status for 2025 while speaking with reporters at the NFL combine on Tuesday. 

"I'm not sure how [head coach Andy Reid] answered that," Veach said about Kelce's future, as shared by Brigid Kennedy of Sports Illustrated. "How we left it at the end of the season is that [Kelce] was fired up. He has one more year under contract. Still think he has that fire and desire to play, and as far as I'm concerned, there is no deadline. I think we left it as he'd be back and we're excited to get him back and get him going."

The comment about a deadline was presumably related to a report that said the Chiefs wanted to know "around March 14" whether Kelce will retire because of when he is due an $11.5M roster bonus. 

Shortly after the Chiefs suffered a brutal 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, Kelce said he was "kicking every can I can down the road" regarding a decision about returning for another season. On Tuesday, Reid revealed during an interview with NFL Media's Judy Battista (h/t Bobby Kownack) that he didn't know for sure if the 35-year-old could have second thoughts about playing on the final year of his existing contract. 

"I think it will all work out," Reid explained. "But I'm big on that. I'm big on stepping away. I mean, Trav is positive. There's no negative to it. But step back and get yourself away from it. … You just think clearer. We obviously hope he's coming back. He's been positive in that direction. We'll cross all that here next week or so."

In short, there remain more questions than answers as it pertains to Kelce's future with March 14 approaching. For what it's worth, the Chiefs and Kelce reportedly could delay the due date for the bonus if he wants/needs more time before he confirms his plans for 2025.