KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A day after he agreed to return to the Kansas City Chiefs for his 14th season, tight end Travis Kelce shared that one of the biggest influences in continuing his NFL career was not a member of the organization. Instead, it was pop music star Taylor Swift, his fiancée he plans to marry before training camp.
In a short appearance Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Kelce shared that Swift’s support was a factor that inspired him to return to the Chiefs.
“We share the same love for what we do, and fortunately we’ve had this desire since we were kids in our selective professions,” Kelce said of Swift. “It’s amazing to see her keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies and, on top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.
“Of course that’s motivating. That’s motivating for anybody to see, let alone my fiancée, knowing that I’m going through something where I’m trying to figure out exactly what the future holds for me. Something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what, I’m not done, either.’ I’ve still got some ideas in the back of my mind and still got some juice left to play this game.”
On Monday afternoon, when the NFL’s free agency period began, Kelce and the Chiefs agreed to a one-year contract worth $12 million with a maximum value of $15 million, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Last season, Kelce, at age 36, led the Chiefs in targets (108), receptions (76), yards (851), touchdowns (five) and receiving first downs (45). Although Kelce was an unrestricted free agent, several teams were interested in signing him, likely doing so for a deal that could’ve made him the league’s highest-paid tight end. But Kelce informed the Chiefs on Monday morning of his intentions to stay alongside coach Andy Reid — his only coach throughout his NFL career — quarterback Patrick Mahomes and pass rusher Chris Jones, a source told ESPN.
Another reason Kelce wanted to stay with the Chiefs is because Reid in January hired Eric Bieniemy to be the team’s offensive coordinator, the same role he had with the team from 2018 to 2022, the same stretch in which the tight end performed his best.
“It was pretty short and brief and the Chiefs knew where I was the entire time on it,” Kelce said of his decision. “You always need to take a step back, breathe and let the emotions of the season settle down and see where the body is. Man, I’m still in love with this game. I still love going to work, putting on the pads, grinding it out and just playing the game.
“My best opportunity was playing for the Chiefs yet again and running this thing back with Pat Mahomes and Coach Reid and got my guy Eric Bieniemy back. There’s a lot of pieces in Kansas City that I just absolutely love and I can’t wait to get back in the building with them.”
Mahomes and Jones each used their social media accounts on Monday to share their joy in getting to be Kelce’s teammate for the upcoming season.
While the Chiefs were negotiating their deal with Kelce, the team, led by Reid and general manager Brett Veach, made four significant acquisitions Monday, agreeing to a deal with running back Kenneth Walker, who’s the reigning Super Bowl MVP, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, safety Alohi Gilman and receiver Tyquan Thornton.
“We’ve got Brett Veach and Andy Reid going and getting the Super Bowl MVP; You kidding me?” Kelce shouted. “The biggest thing [in] coming back was that we’ve got to be even more hungrier than we’ve been before. Talking to Pat and Coach Reid and the guys, it’s pretty [clear] there’s a lot of dawg mentality right now to get this thing fixed.
“That mentality itself is already motivating me to get to where I need to be during the season.”
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