Keyshawn Johnson breaks silence on Travis Kelce contemplating retirement in the near future

Kelce had to undergo 10 surgeries in his football career and he can still feel the pain of each one of them to date.

Keyshawn Johnson breaks silence on Travis Kelce contemplating retirement in the near future

Travis Kelce and Keyshawn Johnson (Via Imago)

Looks like the retirement rumors of Travis Kelce have reached the ears of the former wide receiver turned NFL analyst, Keyshawn Johnson. The 34-year-old tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs has recently spoken about his “maybe” plans in football, revealing retirement has been all over his mind in recent times.

With his 10 seasons with the Chiefs, Kelce has established himself as one of the biggest NFL stars. With growing age, the tight end feels like the end of his career tail. As the whole internet nearly broke down with Kelce’s revelation, sports analyst Johnson brought up the subject in the recent episode of Undisputed, alongside Richard Sherman and Skip Bayless.

I'm not surprised at all about the conversation of retirement. When you've accomplished so much, so early in your career. In 12 years he's been playing in the National Football League but so much success came early…

Johnson further said:

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You look at it, you say 'Do I want to do this again next year? I'm loving my offseasons, I'm looking at all these sorts of things.' If you got one foot in, one foot out you’re already retired, you just haven’t announced it yet.

Johnson believes that even if not this year, there is likely a chance it will be at the end of next season. He also recalled his retirement, sharing how he took the decision. The former Carolina Panthers‘ wideout revealed that no matter how much he loved football after playing for ten seasons, he wanted to relax and enjoy the simple luxury that life is.

Similar to Kelce, Johnson also achieved success at an early stage. And as Kelce is counted among the top 10 tight ends of all time, he can’t eclipse that. 

At some point, you want to live your life, so I wouldn't be shocked if in 2024, he comes back at one more ride…he's gonna do it one more time then he eventually walks away.

Why is Travis Kelce thinking of retirement?

As recently featured in the Wall Street Journal’s cover page for the December-January issue, the Chiefs tight end opened up about his future plans in football. From his rookie year in 2013, the tight end hasn’t missed many games, but he has been through many injuries.

Travis Kelce
Travis Kelce (Via People)

Kelce revealed he had to undergo 10 surgeries in his football career and he can still feel the pain of each one of them to date. 

That's the only thing I've never really been open about. The discomfort. The pain. The lingering injuries—the 10 surgeries I've had—I still feel every single surgery to this day.

Based on the manner in which Kelce has been talking about his possible retirement, it seems like it is not too far away. With a career reception of 878, Kelce is the fourth tight end to have this high reception.

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