For more than 10 seasons, Travis Kelce has been one of the NFL's biggest stars, but at 34 years old, the Chiefs tight end knows that he's at the tail end of his career.
Retirement is something Kelce rarely talks about, but he did open up about the subject during a recent interview with WSJ. Magazine. During that conversation, Kelce revealed that retirement is constantly on his mind and that it's something he thinks about "more than anyone could ever imagine."
Although the eight-time Pro Bowler hasn't missed very many games during his career, he has taken a beating, and all of those injuries are starting to add up. According to the Chiefs tight end, he's undergone 10 surgeries in his football career, and the pain from those surgeries still hasn't gone away.
"That's the only thing I've never really been open about, the discomfort. The pain," Kelce said. "The lingering injuries -- the 10 surgeries I've had that I still feel every single surgery to this day."
When it comes to retirement, Kelce usually keeps his thoughts to himself or just plays it off. Back in June, he was asked how much longer he thought he might play in the NFL, and he gave a classic Kelce answer.
"Till the wheels fall off, baby," Kelce said at the time. "I just love the game. ... I think that kind of keeps me living with, I don't know, a young, fun-loving football player. I get to play a game for a living at the age of 33, 34, and I think that's something -- you know, I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose that excitement that I had for a game when I was a kid."
Based on how much pain he's feeling, it seems that the wheels might fall off sooner rather than later.
The two-time Super Bowl winner has been in the NFL since the Chiefs drafted him with a third-round pick back in 2013. Since then, he's turned into one of the best tight ends in NFL history, and one reason that's happened is because he's managed to stay remarkably healthy. Although he missed 15 games during his rookie year due to a knee injury, he's only missed a total of four games in the 10 and a half seasons since then.
Going into Kansas City's Week 11 game against the Eagles, Kelce has 871 career receptions, which is the fourth-most by any tight end in NFL history. He also ranks fourth in tight end receiving yards with 10,941.
Kelce's brother, Jason, has also been contemplating retirement recently, and now, it doesn't seem too crazy to think they might ride off into the sunset together and retire at the same time.
