Kelce leans in fully soccer guy territory with this explanation, but it’s a great example of the addictive nature of the sport that keeps players coming back well into their 30s. To Kelce’s credit, he had plenty of reason to keep playing, but he still accounted for roughly 90 receptions and nearly 1,000 receiving yards in each of his final two seasons. There was also an annual pursuit of the Super Bowl in which his Chiefs participated.
The latter isn’t a possibility this season, not after Kelce’s Chiefs were eliminated from the postseason and lost Patrick Mahomes on the same day. The remaining two contests were all but worthless for Kansas City, a reality Kelce has not experienced in his NFL career.
“It’s kind of an embarrassing feeling,” Kelce said. “But you keep it up, man, you keep it up. And I’m still a fan of the game, and I still love the game, so I’ll be tuned in through the playoffs, see how it shakes out in the next few weeks. I’ll get to be around some friends and family in January instead of trying to figure out how to win some playoffs.”
It’s a sobering reality for Kelce. Depending on what he decides in the next month or so, that could be his future, too.
“Just being a normal person for a few weeks, maybe a month or so, and trying to figure out what I’m going to do next in terms of my future in football,” he said. “And I’ve already talked to some people in the facility, had the exit meetings and everything, and they know where I stand, at least now. And I think there’s a lot of love for the game that’s still there, and I don’t think I’ll ever lose that.
“And I don’t know. It’s tough sailing, but at the same time, I think if my body can recover and rest, and I can be confident that I can go out and run again in 18, 20, 21 weeks, I think I would in a heartbeat. So I think right now it’s just feeling how it feels in my body, and I just see how it feels in this game, sitting down.”