Kelce retires, Smith departs – Kansas City Chiefs | NFL News

The Kansas City Chiefs‘ dream of a third consecutive Super Bowl victory was destroyed as they had been thrashed by the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite an spectacular 15-2 file and a robust playoff run, the Chiefs couldn’t secure victory at Super Bowl LIX, shedding 40-22.

The Eagles, led by Jalen Hurts, dominated the sport on the Caesar Superdome in New Orleans, main 34-0 with no response from Patrick Mahomes and his offence. The Chiefs managed to attain 22 factors within the fourth quarter, however it was too little too late.

Despite the loss, Andy Reid and his workforce can be eager to bounce back in 2025. However, there are various elements at play in Kansas City, and any disruption might have important penalties.

Here, we’ve got appeared on the potential nightmare that the Chiefs might face to break their offseason plans.

Veteran tight finish Travis Kelce is but to verify his future with the Chiefs, and will retire quickly. The 35-year-old, who has had a profitable 12-year profession with the workforce, is contracted for the 2025 season however is contemplating his choices during the offseason.

Throughout his illustrious profession, Kelce has secured three Super Bowl victories, earned a place on the All-Pro roster 4 instances, celebrated 10 Pro Bowl picks and was included on the NFL 2010s All-Decade workforce. Despite these accolades, in his most up-to-date Super Bowl effort, Kelce solely managed to hurry for 39 yards on 4 targets, failing to attain.

Speaking on the “New Heights” podcast with brother Jason, who retired in 2024, Kelce brazenly mentioned his retirement deliberation. He stated: “I know everybody wants to know whether I’m playing next year and, right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road.

“I’m kicking each can I can down the street. I’m not making any loopy choices. I’ve been lucky over the previous 5, six years I’ve performed more soccer than anyone.

“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. That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body.”

Kelce added: “I think I owe it to my team-mates that if I do come back, it’s going to be a whole-hearted decision. Not half-assing it. I’m fully here for them and I think I could play.

“It’s simply whether or not or not I’m motivated or it is the best determination for me as a man, as a human and as a particular person to tackle all of that accountability.”

However, The Athletic has reported that Reid and the Chiefs’ staff have given him a deadline for his retirement decision. As the team heads into an offseason full of hard work and difficult roster decisions, Kelce is expected to choose to retire or stick with the Chiefs by March 14.

Should he choose to hang up his helmet, the Chiefs will be losing a major part of their offensive roster. Despite his poor Super Bowl performance, Kelce had another record-breaking season in 2024.

During the campaign, he became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 12,000 career receiving yards.

The veteran athlete also became the Chiefs’ leader in career receptions, surpassing Tony Gonzalez’s previous record of 916. By Christmas Day last year, Kelce achieved his 1,000th career reception and became the Chiefs’ all-time leader in receiving touchdowns.

Losing him would understandably be huge for Mahomes and the rest of the offence, and his consistency in catching and scoring will be difficult to replace.

Another very important player who could be leaving Arrowhead this offseason is lineman Trey Smith. The offensive guard has been with the Chiefs for just four seasons, but he has become an integral part of protecting Mahomes on the field.

The two-time Super Bowl champion has now become a free agent, leaving him open to sign with other franchises unless the Chiefs offer him a new contract. Despite many finding it hard to believe that the right guard would leave Kansas City, Pro Football Network reports that the team will have very limited cap space in 2025.

This could potentially lead to other NFL teams, who have more flexibility in terms of contract money, making a move for Smith and offering him a substantial amount to leave the team that drafted him. He could be a valuable addition to teams seeking line help, such as the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, or Chicago Bears – all of which have more cap space than the Chiefs.

Losing Smith would be a significant blow, given the weakness of the offensive line during the Super Bowl. Mahomes was sacked six times – the most in any game of his entire career – and was pressured on 40% of his dropbacks, as the Chiefs seemingly had no answer for the Eagles’ formidable defence.

The NFL Draft could provide some success for the Chiefs this offseason, but their picks aren’t as favourable as some other teams. Before any trades are completed, Kansas City has the following picks: a 31st overall pick, one second-round pick, two third-round picks, one in the fourth and fifth rounds, and two in the seventh round.

If Kelce retires and Smith departs, the Chiefs must find replacements before they can bolster their squad. The team may focus on the tight end and offensive line positions, with new recruits likely to be selected from the third round onwards.

However, Kansas City’s financial situation is far from ideal – they have the ninth-lowest cap space in the league, with just $11.5 million available. In stark contrast, the Patriots boast a staggering $123M of cap space and nine draft picks compared to the Chiefs’ eight.

According to Sportrac, even the present Super Bowl champions, the Eagles, have more cap space than the Chiefs with $24.5M at their disposal.

This means that retaining expertise might show difficult for head coach Reid and his employees, and a few of their Draft targets might go for different groups on account of their low place on the order.

The recruitment workforce will need to drag out all of the stops in free company and the Draft to offer Reid with the expertise he must steer the Chiefs back to the highest of the NFL.