Travis Kelce has had two days to process the pain of the Kansas City Chiefs' loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
It's clear the feelings are still raw for the future Pro Football Hall of Famer. In the latest edition of Kelce's wildly popular "New Heights" podcast that he hosts with his brother Jason -- an edition Kelce described as "a very 'gotta-do-it' type of episode" -- the tight end allowed himself an extended period of vulnerability, starting with the outcome of the 40-22 loss on Sunday.
"It just wasn't our day. Couldn't find a lick of momentum," Kelce said in an episode that was released on Wednesday. "I'm kicking myself for some of the tiny, tiny decisions I made on the field, trying to do something more than what I asked to do during plays. I wasn't the best leader that I could be in motivating my guys and keeping my guys calm, cool and collected. I put a lot of that on myself as, you know, the guy that's been in the building for 12 years and seen a lot of football and actually seen a situation just like this in the Super Bowl, talking about the Tampa Bay Super Bowl.
"It's a tough pill to swallow, man. Every time we felt like we made a big play or we got something going, a penalty would happen or we'd be going backwards. Then, on top of that, just not executing the play calls. It wasn't the play calls. It was the cumulative effort of everybody just not finding a way to get it done, man. To happen on the biggest stage sucks, but to have it happen for the second time of my career on the biggest stage, man, it's a tough pill to swallow."
It was clearly difficult for Kelce to talk about the game and the lopsided result, even with the support of his brother, who was in an awkward position himself considering Jason's place as an Eagles legend. Travis Kelce appeared to hold back some tears on a few occasions during his opening remarks regarding the game, almost as if he'd started to grasp the gravity of the moment in his football journey.
"It's a hard reality, man," Kelce said. "I love my teammates. I love my coaches. Chiefs Kingdom, I'm sorry for how it ended. F---, I have a beautiful life, man. I have loved ones. I have the most amazing family in the world that supports me in everything that I do, and they were all there cheering me on and hoping for the best on Sunday, man.
"I just have to tip my hat to the Eagles. They were firing on all cylinders coming out. It just felt like we just never had control over what was going on in that game."
Kelce knows that, like his brother, there is less football ahead of him than what is behind him. In fact, there might not be much left at all.
Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Sunday's game could potentially be Kelce's last and that he would make a decision regarding a possible retirement before the start of free agency in March.
Kelce, 35, said on Wednesday that he plans to take some time before deciding if he will play next season, which would be his 13th in the NFL.
"I know everybody wants to know whether or not I'm playing next year. Right now, I'm just kicking everything down the road," Kelce said. "I'm kicking every can that I can down the road. I'm not making any crazy decisions, but right now, the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches, understanding that there's a lot that goes into this thing.
"I've been fortunate over the past five, six years, I've played more football than anybody. It's because the people that are in that building and the fact that we keep going to these AFC championships, these Super Bowls, that means I'm playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league.
"That's a lot of wear and tear on your body. It's a lot of time spent in the building, focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand, every challenge that you set for yourself. That process can be grueling. It can weigh on you. It can make you better and it can drive you crazy at the same time. Right now, it's one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year. I think that it happens as you kind of tail off towards the back nine of your career. As you see yourself or not feel yourself have the success that you once used to have, it's a tough pill to swallow. On top of that, to not be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team's counting on you, man, those are all extremely hard things to. ... It's just a tough reality."
The outcome of Super Bowl LIX and the path to the final result can't be encouraging to Kelce when considering what may lie ahead for him. Like most of his Chiefs teammates, Kelce had a nightmarish day on the field at Caesar's Superdome in New Orleans, going without a reception on his first two targets (which were admittedly inaccurate throws made by quarterback Patrick Mahomes). He didn't start to make much of an impact until late in the third quarter, at which point the Chiefs were trailing 27-0.
His four catches for 39 yards rang hollow in the end, coming in what was essentially garbage time in the lopsided contest. Unlike in previous Super Bowls, Kelce was a non-factor, though he certainly wasn't the only member of the Chiefs whose contributions didn't make much of a difference.
Such an outcome typically leads a veteran player in one of two directions. Either they take it as a sign that it's about time to hang it up, or they use it as motivation to give it another go.
Kelce isn't prepared to make a quick, emotionally driven decision, not even after a day the tight end despondently referred to as the worst of his life.
"I think I'm gonna take some time to figure it out," Kelce said. "I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back, it's going to be something that it's a wholehearted decision, I'm not half-assing it, I'm fully here for them. I think I can play. It's just whether or not I'm motivated or it's the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility."
If Kelce calls it a career, most would understand. He's put in an incredible run of production, earning four first-team All-Pro selections, 10 Pro Bowl nods, three Super Bowl victories and a place on the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-Decade team for the 2010s. He's also seen his production dip slightly over the last two seasons, falling short of 1,000 receiving yards in 2023 and 2024 after clearing the mark annually from 2016-2022.
If he decides to give it one more go, it won't be difficult to find the reason. Kansas City finished 15-2 and came one win shy of making history as the first team to three-peat in the Super Bowl era. After losing in convincing fashion, most competitors would feel the urge to get back on the field, even if it may not be the most sound decision.
"The reality's gonna suck here for quite a while. It's just life, man," Kelce said. "It's life. This sport can humble you so fast, man. It can give you so much praise. It can shoot you to the moon, and it can bury you, man. It can absolutely bury you. It's the occupation we chose. Not everything can go as planned sometimes, even though we've been able to find a way over the past however long, but especially this year and this team, we were known for finding a way.
"As much as I like to think we could have done things differently, man, it just didn't feel like at the end of it it was meant to be. It is what it is."
When one thinks of this era of Kansas City Chiefs football, one of the first three names that will come to mind is Kelce. He's compiled a legendary run and helped drive the evolution of the position in this era of pro football.
If this is it, we can start the countdown to his enshrinement in Canton. If not, Chiefs fans will be happy to have No. 87 back for one more pursuit of greatness.
