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Kansas City Chiefs star Chris Jones came out in defense of Travis Kelce after a former general manager said the team should move on from the tight end in the offseason.
Former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Wednesday that the Chiefs should cut Kelce and look to upgrade the position with a younger and faster player.
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Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) gestures to teh crowd during the third quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 25, 2025. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)
Jones, a defensive tackle, had a two-word response.
“Shut up,” he wrote on X.
Tannenbaum said that the Chiefs front office should be projecting what a player can bring to the table now, instead of evaluating past performance.
“I would move on from Travis Kelce and let me tell you why. When you’re in the front office, you have to project what a player is going to do,” he said. “Not what they’ve done. I’ve made that mistake countless times in my career. And Travis Kelce is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but when you watch him and make an honest and sober evaluation of his 2025 performance, clearly, his best days are behind him.
“We talk about their lack of explosive plays, if I was Kansas City, I would make the right, albeit difficult, decision to move on from Travis Kelce to try to get younger, faster and more explosive at the tight end position.”
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) talks with Chicago Bears place kicker Cairo Santos (8) after the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Aug. 22, 2025. (Denny Medley/Imagn Images)
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Kelce, a three-time Super Bowl champion and 11-time Pro Bowler, has seen his stats decrease over the last three seasons. Though, as he’s aged, defensive coaches have been more keen to cover Kelce in a way that prevents Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense from harming them.
He did have better numbers from the 2024 season to the 2025 season. He had 851 receiving yards on 76 catches and five touchdowns last season – up from 2024 when he had 97 catches for 823 yards and three touchdowns. He also proved to be a valuable target for Mahomes’ backups when he suffered a season-ending injury.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce acknowledges the crowd on the 10th hole during the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Feb. 13, 2026. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
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Kelce could still opt to retire, which makes the Chiefs’ decision moot. But as of now, his future is still hanging in the balance.
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