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Kansas City Chiefs star Chris Jones came to the 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” Wednesday that the Chiefs should cut Kelce and look to upgrade the position with a younger, faster player.
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Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) gestures to the 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 answer.
“Shut up,” he wrote on X.
Tannenbaum said the Chiefs front office should be projecting what a player can bring to the table now, rather than evaluating past performance.
“I would go 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 look at him and do an honest and sober evaluation of his performance in 2025, it’s clear that his best days are behind him.
“Talking about their lack of explosive plays, if I were 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 drop over the past three seasons. Even as he’s gotten older, defensive coaches have been more intent on covering Kelce in a way that prevents Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense from hurting them.
He had 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 February 13, 2026. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
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Kelce could still opt out, making the Chiefs’ decision moot. But right now his future still hangs in the balance.
