Travis Kelce denied reports his older brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, told his teammates he was retiring after Monday night’s playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Multiple reports surfaced Tuesday morning that Kelce had informed his teammates of his impending permanent locker-room clean out. But Kelce rejected those claims at a press conference on Friday afternoon, hinting that the 36-year-old may even keep playing. ‘It came out that he retired and he didn’t really say any of that,’ Travis Kelce said Friday. ‘The end of that game, I think everyone kind of felt for him knowing that he has been thinking about it a lot over the past couple years,’
‘The documentary shows that. You don’t need to go around and ask anybody,’ Travis continued. ‘It’s been cool to see everybody appreciate who he’s been over the years this past week.’ ‘I think the big guys still got some football left if he wants it,’ Kelce concluded. Jason was seen looking dejected and tearful after the 32-9 blow-out postseason loss to the Bucs. The elder Kelce brother spent a moment with his family in the stands before a slow walk into privacy.
He was not made available to the media after the game, but did speak with reporters on Wednesday, where he did not state his future intentions one way or another. The Kelce brothers have a close relationship and discussing matters as serious as retirement would be a heavily protected secret.
Neither Kelce has put a timeline on when the offensive lineman intends to announce his future plans. Jason nearly retired after the end of last season, but signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia that expires in March.
The elder Kelce, 36, has seen his level of fame skyrocket since the beginning of his ‘New Heights’ podcast with co-host brother Travis. Jason Kelce’s celebrity status went into another stratosphere after Travis started dating Taylor Swift. While Jason’s season is over, Travis and the Chiefs are playing Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon.
