We recently surmised that the Chiefs will want to know tight end Travis Kelce’s plans soon. We surmised correctly. For a change.
The Athletic.com recently reported that the Chiefs want to know Kelce’s plans “around March 14.”
March 14 is an important date, given that it’s both the start of the new league year and the last day to remove him from the roster before he earns an $11.5 million roster bonus.
Kelce’s comments from the latest episode of the New Heights podcast strongly suggest that he’s leaning toward moving on. The attachment of a fairly short fuse to his deliberations could become a nudge, even if that’s not the team’s intent.
Ultimately, the Chiefs need to know whether they should pursue free agents like Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki. That’s why a delay of the deadline for the roster bonus is only a partial solution. The Chiefs would still carry a $19.8 million cap number for Kelce, which would plummet to $2.5 million if Kelce retires or is released.
And even if they have the space to sign someone like Mike Gesicki or Tyler Conklin or Zach Ertz, the Chiefs won’t want to sign Kelce’s replacement if they ultimately won’t be replacing him.
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