Travis Kelce’s Chiefs teammate Charles Omenihu has urged him not to retire on the back of their Super Bowl humbling after telling him: ‘We can’t go out like that.’
Kansas City is still reeling from a miserable 40-22 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, where they failed to become the first team of the Super Bowl era to pull off a famous three-peat.
It proved a demoralizing evening for Kelce, who was largely anonymous while girlfriend Taylor Swift watched on from a private suite, recording just four catches for 39 yards.
And on the back of Sunday’s loss, the 35-year-old tight end revealed Wednesday that he is now considering retirement.
Fans and analysts had already tipped him to bow out after he put up some of the worst regular-season numbers of his career in 2024, yet Omenihu is desperate for Kelce to play on next season.
During an appearance on FS1’s The Facility, the Chiefs defensive end backed his teammate to ‘give it one more go’ in 2025 after stressing that he still has ‘a lot left’.
Travis Kelce ‘s Kansas City Chiefs teammate Charles Omenihu has urged him not to retire
“We can’t go out like that.” — @charless_94 @EmmanuelAcho and @charless_94 discuss if Travis Kelce should retire pic.twitter.com/YJzq8QRa7w
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) February 13, 2025
‘We can’t go out like that,’ Omenihu said about Kelce. ‘He’s a Hall of Famer from the moment he says he’s done. But I think Trav has a lot left, I think Trav is an extreme competitor, I think he’s somebody that loves the game… and [after] the storied career that he’s had, going out like that in my opinion wouldn’t be something that he would do.
‘So I believe that he’ll be back, I believe that he’ll give it one more go. We have guys coming back on that team, Rashee [Rice] is gonna be back, so that’s gonna help out the offense.
‘Whatever holes that the team has, Coach Reid and Brett [Veach, general manager] do a great job of getting on top of it real quick, they’re not gonna overlook anything that may have been the reason why we didn’t come out on top.
‘So it’s gonna be a refuel and get back to it.’
Kelce, considered by many as the greatest tight ends of all time, has a big decision on his hands after wrapping up his 12th season in the NFL.
Many fear the veteran will hang up his cleats in order to spend more time with Swift and focus on his newfound career as a TV presenter and actor going forward.
On the latest episode of his and older brother Jason’s New Heights podcast, he cited ‘wear and tear’ as a potential reason why he may call it quits.
‘The fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games than everybody else in the entire league,’ Kelce explained.
Kelce, who was anonymous in their Super Bowl defeat on Sunday, is contemplating retirement
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But Omenihu believes the legendary tight end should play on in 2025 as he still has ‘a lot left’
Kelce dropped his biggest retirement hint yet on the latest episode of New Heights this week
‘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, every challenge that you set up for yourself. That process can be grueling, it can weigh on you.
‘It can make you better [but] it can drive you crazy at the same time, and right now it’s one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year. It happens when you kind of tail off towards the back nine of your career. When you feel yourself not have the success that you used to have, it’s a tough pill to swallow.
‘And then on top of that to not be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team’s counting on you man… it’s just a tough reality.’
‘I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,’ he continued. ‘And I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back that it’s gonna be a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-a**ing it, and I’m fully here for them.
‘I think I can play, it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.’