Travis Kelce is back to going through the same NFL grind during Kansas City Chiefs training camp that had him thinking about retirement before the Super Bowl in February.
Per Nate Taylor of ESPN, Kelce told reporters on Wednesday that he’s enjoying training camp but is feeling “soreness” from workouts and practices in the summer.
“You’ve got to go through the dog days and enjoy it for what it is, man,” Kelce said. “We’re rocking and rolling, man. It’s training camp, so you’re going to feel the soreness and the heavy workload you’re getting every day. You’ve got to enjoy it for what it is and fight through that.”
Kelce didn’t reveal his plans to return to the Chiefs in 2025 until after the Super Bowl. Leading up to the game, he said on the “New Heights Podcast” that long postseason runs had taken a toll on his body.
“The fact that we keep going to these AFC championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league,” Kelce said. “That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body and it’s a lot of time spent in the building, focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand and every challenge that you set up for yourself.
Kelce is set to enter his 13th season in the league and will turn 36 during the regular season. With three Super Bowl wins, 10 Pro Bowl nominations and seven All-Pro honors, he has nothing more to prove when he decides the bumps and bruises aren’t worth it.
As his body continues to add pain in what is expected to be another long season and postseason, Kelce could decide that this run is his last.