Kelce's production took a slight dip in 2024, but the Chiefs are still vying for a Super Bowl title
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Paul Pierce believes that if the Kansas City Chiefs secure a third straight Super Bowl title, Patrick Mahomes will undoubtedly cement his place as the greatest of all time.
Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN football analyst Dan Orlovsky offered his thoughts about whether Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce could retire sooner rather than later.
Kelce, 35, recently wrapped up his 12th season in the league. He finished the regular season with 823 receiving yards, which marked the second consecutive year the star tight end did not reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark.
While Kelce did receive Pro Bowl honors for a tenth straight year and remains a productive player, he is certainly closer to the end of his football career than he is to the beginning. All of this comes as the Chiefs pursue an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl championship. Should the Chiefs ultimately hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy next month, Orlovsky believes that calling it quits could become "a very real thing" for the seven-time All-Pro.
Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce during a media day at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa, Henderson. Picture date: Wednesday, February 7, 2024. (PA Wire/PA Images via Getty Images)
"Kelce is fully capable of being the difference-maker. I think he’s got one great run left," Orlovsky said on ESPN's long-running daytime program "First Take."
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"I think if he goes and has that vintage Kelce performance, which I fully, one, think he’s capable of, and two, will do, and they go on and three-peat, I think retirement becomes a very real thing for Travis Kelce.
"There would be nothing else to accomplish. He’d be arguably the greatest tight end of all time. He would be the tight end that was part of [Chiefs] only three-peat in the history of the NFL. He’s obviously later in his career. I don’t think there would be anything left. And I think he’s got one, elite, great, difference-maker, vintage, ‘Oh my Gosh, he did it again’ run left in him."
Kelce has contended with questions about when he will decide to bring his NFL career to a close. During a recent appearance on "The Stephen A. Smith Show," he admitted that his thoughts on retirement tend to fluctuate, but he plans to "re-evaluate" things once he heads into the offseason.
Dan Orlovsky looks on prior to Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
"I love everything that I’m doing … but at the end of the day, I’m not having that extreme success on the field," Kelce said. "I’m excited for these next couple of games … to finish this season off. I’ll re-evaluate it like I always do, [and] I’ll probably tell myself how much I love this thing, and I’ll come back next year."
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) scores on a 48-yard touchdown reception during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
The NFL veteran added that pop star Taylor Swift continues to offer her full support as it relates to his playing career. "She’s fully encouraging me to enjoy playing this game," Kelce told Smith.
"I got all the support in the world to keep chasing these dreams," the three-time Super Bowl winner said, before noting that the "Anti-Hero" singer "loves coming" to games to watch him and the Chiefs play.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
