Gronk thinks Travis Kelce will approach impending retirement differently than expected for Chiefs TE

Billy Heyen

Gronk thinks Travis Kelce will approach impending retirement differently than expected for Chiefs TE image

If there's a legendary tight end who knows how hard it is to retire, it's Rob Gronkowski.

So this weekend, when Gronk spoke about Travis Kelce's potential impending retirement from the Kansas City Chiefs, it was worth listening to.

Gronkowski retired once from the New England Patriots, took a year away, then came back to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And now, Gronk doesn't think the 36-year-old Kelce is done yet.

Instead, he thinks Kelce is going to seek out a new team.

"I think he’s going to test the market out there and he has to vie for a championship and the Super Bowl if he comes back," Gronkowski said on Fox NFL Sunday.

The Chiefs are in a weird spot heading into 2026 after Patrick Mahomes' torn ACL. The superstar isn't necessarily going to be ready for Week 1, and if recovery falls on the slower side, he might not return until mid-season.

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That could make having a bounce-back season that much tougher for the Chiefs. They'd love to get back to their Super Bowl ways, of course.

"I don’t really see that happening with the Kansas City Chiefs," Gronkowski said. "It’s gonna be a rebuild year, kind of."

Kelce has only ever played for the Chiefs. It'd certainly be a big deal if he ended up in another uniform.

There's also no telling if that's a step Kelce would want to take in his career.

But just the fact that Gronk sees it as a possibility is interesting. Few former players could relate to at least some of what Kelce is going through like Gronkowski.

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