It’s too early to pencil the Kansas City Chiefs in for a historic third-straight Super Bowl victory, but Dan Orlovsky pulled out his crystal ball Friday and said if that happens, Travis Kelce might call it a career.
Granted, this prediction is not going out on a limb, as the 35-year-old Kelce has raised the issue himself many times. But on Friday’s episode of First Take, Orlovsky put a slightly different spin on things, saying the star tight end has “one great run” left in his career.
“Kelce is fully capable of being the difference maker. I think he’s got one great run left,” Orlovsky said. “I think if he goes and has that vintage Kelce performance, which I fully 1) think he’s capable of, and 2) will do, and they go on and three-peat, I think retirement becomes a very real thing for Travis Kelce.
“There would be nothing else to accomplish. He’d be arguably the greatest tight end of all time. He would be the tight end that was part of [Chiefs] only three-peat in the history of the NFL. He’s obviously later in his career. I don’t think there would be anything left. And I think he’s got one, elite, great, difference-maker, vintage, ‘oh my gosh, he did it again’ run left in him.”
.@danorlovsky7 says Travis Kelce has “one great run left” in his NFL career 👀
“If he goes and has that vintage Kelce performance … and [the Chiefs] go on to three-peat, I think retirement becomes a very real thing.” 👏 pic.twitter.com/SVEWmohH4r
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 16, 2025
Of course, if the Chiefs do not three-peat, it would not be difficult to imagine Kelce coming back next season for one more shot at another trophy. Yet Kelce turns 36 in October and the 10-time Pro Bowl player posted the worst statistical season of his career. Father Time remains undefeated when facing even the greatest athletes.
Kelce has already hinted at his own retirement, on his New Heights podcast and elsewhere. During an appearance this week on the Stephen A. Smith Show, Kelce said his retirement. stance “changes every single day.”
https://youtu.be/b9FcJvOcXyU?si=c8tBuro0oiOQN4oa&t=276
“I’m excited for these next couple of games … to finish this season off,” Kelce told Smith. “I’ll re-evaluate it like I always do [and] I’ll probably tell myself how much I love this thing and I’ll come back next year.”
Who knows, perhaps Orlovsky’s thoughts on Kelce having “one great run” left in him was his subtle way of saying it’s time for the all-time great to call it a career.
