If Thursday night was the last game Travis Kelce played inside Arrowhead Stadium, he sure tried to make it a memorable one.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end only had five catches for 36 yards against the Denver Broncos, playing alongside third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun while his good buddy Patrick Mahomes and backup Gardner Minshew were out with knee injuries. But several of those catches came in the closing minutes, nearly rallying Kansas City in what would have been a stunning upset of the Broncos.
“A whole lot of emotions,” Kelce said afterward. “You’ve got everybody in the world watching you. You get to go out there with the young guys on primetime television. Young guys getting an opportunity to taste what this NFL life is like.”
As for retirement?
“I’ll let that be a decision I’ll make with my family, friends, the Chiefs organization when the time comes,” Kelce said.
He was the final player introduced Thursday night, following Oladokun out of the tunnel in the corner of Arrowhead Stadium. As red lights flashed across the field, Kelce emerged from the fog with his signature bow-and-arrow entrance gesture toward a festive holiday crowd, and it predictably roared in delight — perhaps for the last time — as No. 87 took the field.