“I just love this team,” Kelce said. “Ég er stoltur af því hvernig við kláruðum þetta, þó þetta hafi endað eins og það gerðist. Strákarnir mættu samt og gáfu allt í þetta. Það er allt sem þú getur beðið um, maður.
“I have so much love for this team, this organization and the people here. I will spend time with them, go through exit meetings [Monday] and get close to the family and figure things out.”
It’s instructive to note that when Kelce’s brother, Jason, retired after the Eagles’ postseason elimination in mid-January, the former center waited seven weeks, until March 4, to hold his press conference. Travis has said he plans to make his decision before NFL free agency begins in March
Not everyone believes Kelce will ride off into the sunset after a disappointing campaign for the club.
“He’ll be back next year,” defensive end Chris Jones said of Kelce. “I have faith in my dawg to come back. He brings a lot of energy, a lot of passion to the game. He’s one of the best tight ends to ever play the game, if not the best tight end to ever play the game. I have so much respect and love for him.
“Hopefully this isn’t his last year. We have so much more growth to do next year and so much work to do. I’m looking forward to it.”