Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce could soon be in for a bitter reality.
Kelce — who turns 37 on Oct. 5 — is set to become a free agent on Monday when the legal tampering window opens at noon ET. He can officially sign a deal when the new league year begins on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Jesse Newell reported Sunday that the TE is expected to return for a 14th season, but that doesn’t mean he’ll play for Kansas City, where he has spent his entire career.
Kelce’s camp is expected to speak with other teams. But are any interested in the veteran TE?
Why other teams may not pursue Travis Kelce in free agency
There have been no other major reports about other teams pursuing Kelce this offseason. The Chiefs, meanwhile, have made it clear they would like to retain the TE.
“Travis is the best. He’s an icon. Hopefully, he comes back, and we’ll just kind of let that process play out,” Kansas City general manager Brett Veach told the media at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
However, Kansas City — which has $24.073M in cap space, via Over the Cap — may want to spend money elsewhere. Kelce could agree to a one-year deal with the Chiefs for the 2026 season, but it would still cost them a sizeable chunk. Spotrac estimates the three-time Super Bowl champion’s market value is a one-year deal worth $10.8M, which would rank 11th among TEs.
Would another team (New York Giants? Cleveland Browns?) be willing to pay him that much? Perhaps. But should they invest in an older player who’s no longer the best at his position?
Kelce hasn’t finished with 1,000 receiving yards or more since the 2022 season, when he logged 1,338 in 17 regular-season games. Last season, he ranked fourth among TEs in receiving yards (851), per Sports Info Solutions. However, he also recorded seven drops on 108 targets. That was the most among TEs and tied for the fifth most in the league.
To better illustrate where Kelce stands among TEs, let’s compare him to Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals). He led TEs in receiving yards (1,239 in 17 regular-season games) in 2025, and Sports Info Solutions credited him with two drops on 168 targets.
Kelce — who ranks third all-time among TEs in receiving yards (13,002), via Pro Football Reference — is certainly a future Hall of Famer. That said, he must accept his circumstances. At this point in his career, he’s no longer a No. 1 option in a team’s passing game. If he feels differently, the pass-catcher may soon be in for a reality check.