Travis Kelce’s looming swan song is the weirdest Chiefs storyline in 2025

The Kansas City Chiefs have no shortage of storylines, major and minor, as they press into the 2025 season. That much has already been established by the presence of the six-part docuseries The Kingdom and the ever-going trophy case at Arrowhead. Oh, and the whole Taylor Swift thing.

For the coming year, however, there's only one storyline that qualifies as the single weirdest narrative intertwined with the Chiefs: Travis Kelce's potential swan song.

The sustained success of the Kansas City Chiefs has been synonymous with two things over the years: the presence of both head coach Andy Reid and Kelce. The start tight end was the third-round pick of general manager John Dorsey in his first draft with the team.

The best thing for Chiefs Kingdom is to learn to appreciate the moment with Kelce.

While it took a year to start to see what they had in the University of Cincinnati product due to a knee injury that robbed him of his rookie season, Kelce became a volume target from the outset with 867 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2014. In 2015, Kelce was named to his first Pro Bowl roster, and he's never missed the honor since that time.

In the ensuing decade beyond that first full season in the NFL, Kelce would go on to redefine greatness at the position, by stringing together a record seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with the Chiefs offense.

Kelce's productivity reached new heights when the Chiefs handed off the quarterback baton from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes in 2018. In his first five years with Mahomes, Kelce put up an average season of 101 catches for 1,289 yards and 9 touchdowns. Only Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill had more receiving yards in that same stretch, and his status as a tight end makes the totals even more remarkable.

Here's what makes 2025 so weird: it could be Kelce's last ride with the team. In fact, it feels like a real swan song. It gives him a full season to appreciate everything as it comes—a last road trip to Denver, a last game against the Raiders, a last season of locker room jokes and fan interactions and walking through the tunnel at Arrowhead.

For fans, the last decade-plus of success, a stretch of time in which the Chiefs went from passionate regional fan base to a global following powered by the three titles and the most recognizable stars in the game, Kelce has been a central figure of it all. These Chiefs are synonymous with No. 87.

The idea that we're celebrating Kelce's potential final, well, everything in 2025 is a weird feeling. It's knowing the goodbye is coming and picturing the potential void on the field. All good things must come to an end, but that doesn't make it any less unsettling.

It's possible Kelce has more in him than most of us would expect, but the probability of Kelce retiring after this season feels quite likely. If that's true, then learning to appreciate each moment as it comes is the best way forward for Chiefs Kingdom. It's going to be weird once he's gone.