Kansas City is not ready to let Travis Kelce hang up his cleats.
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones felt uneasy when his teammate recently discussed how he is getting closer to retirement.
“He’s got like four or five more years and what is he talking about, right?’’ Jones said Wednesday, according to ESPN. “We can’t let TK go. It’s like we retire, we’ve got to retire together. Give me at least six, four years, then we’ll talk about it.’’
As for Jones, who signed a record five-year contract extension with the Chiefs in March, he implied that he intends to fulfill the contract’s duration and has no thoughts of calling it quits.
“Once you begin to think about things like that, you’re getting to feed the mind those types of thoughts,” Jones said, per ESPN. “I don’t even want my mind to even go that far to the R word.”
After winning three Super Bowls alongside Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Jones is hoping the good times continue in Kansas City.
The Mississippi State alum — who notched 10.5 sacks in the 2023 regular season — hopes to be part of the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
Chris Jones celebrates a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Wild Card Playoff game in 2023.
Taylor Swift kisses Travis Kelce after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl 2024 winAFP via Getty Images
Jones, 29, is five years younger than the 34-year-old Kelce, who recently signed a two-year, $17 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid tight end in the league.
The deal will take him through the 2027 season when he will be 38.
Even with that extension, Kelce knows he’s on the back nine of his career.
Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce stretching during mandatory minicamp on Wednesday.AP
“I’m gonna do it until the wheels fall off,” Kelce said Tuesday, “and hopefully that doesn’t happen anytime soon. But I can definitely understand that it’s (closer) toward the end of the road than it is the beginning of it, and I just gotta make sure I’m set up for after football, as well.”
He added: “I know I’m 34 years old, about to be 35, but I have a love to do this right here in the middle of the heat in June.”
Travis Kelce walks alongside Patrick Mahomes.AP
Retirement has been a hot topic within the Kelce family since the 2023 season ended.
Kelce’s older brother Jason retired from the NFL in March after 13 years with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The former center, 36, is set to join ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” lineup as an analyst this fall, and Kelce revealed on the latest “New Heights” podcast episode that he aims to eventually follow in his older brother’s footsteps by joining the media space upon retirement.
