Nobody would blame Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for hanging up the cleats.
His age-35 season ended in defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles, but there is little left for him to prove. Whenever he retires, he’ll be considered one of the greatest tight ends of all time. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, a three-time Super Bowl champion, and a key cog to Kansas City’s offensive machine.
Now, with injuries mounting, regression underway, and a post-playing career in media waiting for him, retirement must at least be considered.
If that’s the path he chooses, the Chiefs could replace Kelce with a bold veteran target, Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz.
He appeared in Arrowhead Addict’s list of potential replacements, largely due to his status as a known quantity.
“While Ertz has stated publicly that he would like to stay under Kliff Kingsbury’s watch in Washington for the rest of his career, the Chiefs might be able to turn his head away if they can tempt him with the promise of competing for championships alongside Mahomes,” Mike Luciano wrote. “This year proved Ertz can still get it done as a safety valve over the middle.”
Ertz is very much a security blanket in terms of his usage, although he did drop five of his 91 targets in 2024.
Helping quarterback Jayden Daniels emerge as a superstar, he turned those targets into 66 catches for 654 yards and seven scores – mediocre, but at times crucial – production. It stands to reason that Washington may choose to use its cap space elsewhere, letting young tight end Ben Sinnott take on a larger role in the offense. While his rookie year was unsteady, he is a more athletic, versatile option for next year’s squad.
As for Kansas City, it will be interesting to see if it pivots back to prioritizing after-the-catch production at tight end. Kelce seemed to lap the rest of the league in this department, but his decline was noticeable, falling to 3.9 yards after the catch per reception. Ertz, as usual, fell behind virtually everyone else with 2.8 yards after the catch per reception.
Ertz, for all his strengths as a quarterback-friendly receiver, will not break tackles. That puts a sizable cap on the production from a heavily-utilized role and may be even more of a reason to look elsewhere than the looming age concerns.
Ertz will enter his age-35 season in 2025, offering a path to the kind of production the Chiefs got last year from Kelce (albeit with a smaller target share). If Kansas City is going to rely heavily at tight end, it may be wiser to look for more athletic options who could create big plays at a higher rate than the post-prime versions of both Ertz and Kelce.
