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NEED TO KNOW
Travis Kelce had a candid reaction when asked about his future on the field with Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes recently suffered a season-ending injury, while 36-year-old Kelce has been linked to retirement rumors
"I'd rather keep the focus of the media and everything on this team, right now," Kelce told reporters after his initial reaction
Travis Kelceis thinking about his future as it pertains to time on the field with his best friend and quarterbackPatrick Mahomes.
While speaking to the media on Friday, Dec. 19, the 36-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end was asked by reporters about the possibility of the pair no longer playing football together following Mahomes' recent season-ending injury.
"Oh man, that's crazy,"Kelce replied.
The NFL star has played with the Chiefs for 13 seasons, the only team he's played for since being drafted in 2013.
Mahomes, 30, was later drafted in 2017, and has also only played for the Chiefs. Since then, the two have won three Super Bowls together.
Their luck has come to a halt though after thefather of threetore two ligamentsin his left knee on the final drive of the Chiefs' playoff-eliminating loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Dec. 14. It marks the first time in 10 years that the team won't qualify.
There have also been rumblings that this season might beKelce's lastin the league.
"I'd rather keep the focus of the media and everything on this team, right now," Kelce continued on Friday. "All the conversations I have with the team and everything moving forward will be with them."
However, Kelce, who is engaged toTaylor Swift, admitted, "It's a unique time in my life."
"Unfortunately, I've got three games left, and I know when the season ends this year. Typically when we go into it, we don't know when it's gonna end, and that's the beauty of it," Kelce said Friday, adding that he's "trying to make sure everybody knows that I'm focused on trying to win football games, these last three games."
When Mahomes had his season-ending injury, Kelce was vocal about his feelings.
"Obviously, we lost our quarterback, man. Patty Mahomes, our guy, our brother, our fearless leader, our face of the franchise, and, to an ACL," Kelce said on the Dec. 17 episode of his and brother Jason Kelce'sNew Heightspodcast. "It's never easy seeing your guys go down. We had a bunch of guys get hurt this past game, and we fought, man. We fought."
In addition to their work on the field, he and Mahomes also recently went into business together by opening a restaurant together,1587 Prime Steakhouse, in Kansas City in September. Mahomes' wife Brittany has also becomeclose friendswith Swift, and the two are frequently spotted together cheering on Travis and Patrick at Chiefs games.
Discussing their "bromance" onNew Heightsin 2023, Mahomes, who guest starred on the episode, shared how they knew their friendship was destined to be.
Ralf Ibing - firo sportphoto/Getty
A "rookie" Mahomes was new to the Chiefs and still figuring out how to "fit in," but happened to see Kelce out while partying the night before a scheduled team event.
Mahomes thought he had "all my alarms set," but woke up 15 minutes after he was already supposed to be present. By the time he arrived at the Chiefs facility, he knew he was too late to participate, and simply sat in the locker room until he was called to the office and fined.
"I thought it was so weird, the first question they asked me was, 'Were you with Travis?'" Mahomes recalled being asked — something he also denied.
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"Long story short, Travis was also late. He got there five minutes before me," Mahomes said.
Kelce, who confirmed he'd been late on several occasions before, reacted happily to having a teammate who also wasn't on time.
"I'm not alone!" Kelce joked of meeting Mahomes. "Let's go!"
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