Though the Kansas City Chiefs are squarely focused on their upcoming matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, most teams in the NFL are already looking ahead to the offseason.
Last week, the experts at Pro Football Network revealed their list of potential cut candidates for each of the league’s teams, which included a few surprises.
Among the most controversial cut candidates was Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who was an instrumental contributor in Kansas City’s win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday night.
Take a look at PFN’s justification for listing Kelce as a cut candidate below:
“I know. Your instinct is to yell and call me stupid, but first, just hear me out. Travis Kelce is a legitimate cut candidate for the Kansas City Chiefs for a couple of reasons, the first being that he may just retire, which essentially means he will cut himself.
The second reason is that, despite his playoff performances, Kelce has been a fading force this season. His yards per reception had been above 12 for nine straight years entering 2023. Last year, that dropped to 10.6, and in 2024, it fell to 8.5. The eight touchdowns he scored over the last two seasons combined would have been considered a bad year between 2017 and 2022.
Kelce can clearly still be a role player for the Chiefs, but a role player costing $19.8 million is crazy, no matter how great they have been for your franchise in their career. Any cut for Kelce could be procedural, where he is nominally cut and then re-signed at a more cap-friendly deal. Equally, they could just throw four void years on and move upward of $12.5 million into the future as a thank-you to the veteran.”
Expect fans in Kansas City to riot if the Chiefs decide to cut Kelce, especially if he puts together a career-defining performance against the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
