Colin Cowherd Thinks Chiefs Need To Make 'Clean Break' With Travis Kelce, Replace Him Through NFL Draft

Published•Updated

Colin Cowherd believes this NFL offseason is the perfect time for the Kansas City Chiefs and Travis Kelce to go their separate ways as the future hall-of-fame tight end contemplates potentially retiring.

One of the biggest storylines heading into Super Bowl LIX was whether we could be witnessing Kelce's last game, given retirement rumors had been circulating for the majority of the year. While the 35-year-old has said he's kicking that decision "down the road," Cowherd sees this offseason as an ideal spot for the tight end and the only team he's played for to go their separate ways.

[The Chiefs] have a really good GM and they draft well," Cowherd explained on Wednesday's edition of ‘The Herd.' "This is the perfect time for a clean break. He’s got tons of money, lots of options. I think one of the mistakes basketball [and] football teams do is they cling to the end. It’s time for a clean break."

"He’s expensive, he’s a tight end, this is a good tight end draft, if they were gonna move up and be aggressive outside of left tackle, it’d be for [a] tight end."

Kelce has a $11.5 million roster bonus due on March 14 and carries a $19 million salary on his contract in 2025 before becoming an unrestricted free agent after next season. 

Not only is it hard to fathom Kelce potentially giving up that money, it's also difficult to comprehend Cowherd's suggestion that the Chiefs simply replace Kelce, arguably the greatest tight end ever, through the 2025 NFL Draft.

Kelce may have hauled in four catches for 39 yards in the Chiefs' 40-22 loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl, but he was a complete non-factor during the blowout contest.

Penn State's Tyler Warren is the highest-graded tight end in the upcoming NFL Draft class and will likely be drafted well before the Chiefs are put on the clock in the first round. As Cowherd also pointed out, the Chiefs' bigger hole is on the offensive line, even if Kelce hangs it up and leaves a hole in the tight end position.

OutKick's Dan Zaksheske sees Kansas City taking cornerback Shavon Revel out of TCU with the final pick of the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Tags
Written by

Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016, when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.