Travis Kelce to Leave the Chiefs for a Better Team Next Season? Rob Gronkowski Chimes In

Rob Gronkowski believes that Travis Kelce is set to play his final game for the Chiefs when they take on the Raiders in Week 18 as he will play for a different team in 2026.

Travis Kelce to Leave the Chiefs for a Better Team Next Season? Rob Gronkowski Chimes In

Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski in the circle (Image via IMAGO)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Travis Kelce playing for another NFL team apart from the Kansas City Chiefs may sound like a prank, but the chances of that happening are quite high. At least, Rob Gronkowski believes the 3x Super Bowl champions will ditch the Chiefs in 2026.

It’s no longer a secret that the 13-year veteran is eyeing retirement. He nearly walked away following the last Super Bowl. Then he had an epiphany. Kelce came back for another season to chase his goal of winning a fourth ring.

Sadly, the Chiefs fell apart. They are 6-10 with one game left before the season wraps up. The focus is once again on Kelce. Some are saying that the Chiefs’ Week 17 defeat against the Denver Broncos was the 36-year-old’s final game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Then again, Kelce indicated that he still has the “fire” in him to ball out on the gridiron. He said so himself in a recent heart-to-heart with Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez. So, it makes sense that Kelce may extend his football adventure.

Now, there’s some bad news for the Chiefs. Kelce’s two-year contract, signed in 2024, is set to end in the 2026 offseason. Unless the Chiefs offer an extension, he will enter free agency for the first time in his career.

The next best option, of course, is retirement. However, Rob Gronkowski proposed a third option that Kelce can look into. In a recent segment of NFL Sunday on FOX Sports, Gronkowski speculated that fans might see Kelce wear a different-colored jersey than the Chiefs’ red.

I think he’s [Travis Kelce] going to test the market out there, and he has to vie for a championship and the Super Bowl if he comes back. I don’t really see that happening with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rob Gronkowski said

Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce’s situations are different

Gronkowski can tap into Kelce’s mind because he has experienced it firsthand. He left the New England Patriots to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, an avid football fan knows Gronk’s and Kelce’s situations are different.

Gronkowski can tap into Kelce's mind because he has experienced it firsthand. He left the New England Patriots to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, an avid football fan knows Gronk and Kelce's situations are different.
Travis Kelce (Image via IMAGO)

Gronk temporarily retired after winning his third ring. It lasted a few weeks before he followed Tom Brady to Tampa Bay and won a fourth ring. Kelce’s quarterback isn’t going anywhere. Sure, Patrick Mahomes is nursing an ACL tear, but he will eventually take his place as the best QB of the current era. It’s unfathomable to imagine Kelce without Mahomes.

What he’s [Mahomes] been to my career up to this point, you can’t measure it. It’s all the little things that you see manifest out there onto the field that we’re working on every single week, every single offseason… When he came into the league, he took this thing by storm. And it’s been a fun ride ever since he’s been at the helm.

Travis Kelce told Gonzalez (H/T: Sports Illustrated)

The Chiefs are sure to identify the areas where they need to improve. They currently own the ninth overall pick in next year’s draft, and according to defensive coordinator Steve Sapgnuolo, the Chiefs have created a plan of action.

I can remember going to a number of these combines recently where I knew very little about the guys that we were sitting and talking to … Now, you have a little bit of an idea.

Steve Spagnuolo said

Kelce’s first preference should be to retire with the Chiefs, whether it’s after the current campaign or the next one, remains to be seen. Despite being one of the older players in his position, Kelce hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. He leads the Chiefs with 73 receptions, 839 yards, and 5 touchdowns, and can improve his tally further in Week 18 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Also Read: