Travis Kelce reportedly wasn’t feeling his best leading up to Super Bowl LIX.
On Feb. 9, the star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs was notably off his game during the Philadelphia Eagles matchup—and apparently, it had something to do with an “illness” he battled recently.
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While appearing in an interview for the NFL’s The Insiders Podcast, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach shed some light on Kelce’s health status leading up to the big game.
While Veach insisted he wasn’t trying to “make excuses” for Kelce’s lackluster performance, he revealed that the athlete “was battling with a pretty big illness” before the Super Bowl.
#Chiefs GM Brett Veach told me Travis Kelce “was battling with a pretty big illness” before the Super Bowl. But the team doesn’t believe that loss to the #Eagles will be Kelce’s last game. At age 35, “I think that Travis is excited to come back.”
Full interview on The Insiders: pic.twitter.com/aJrFtsW6Dw
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 26, 2025
However, Veach insisted, it probably “wouldn’t have made a difference” if Kelce played better, considering how dominant the Eagles’ Super Bowl performance was.
Following the end of the football season, questions about Kelce’s future in the NFL have come into question, with rumors of a possible retirement floating around.
Kelce hasn’t officially announced his decision yet, but Veach is fairly confident that the tight end’s work on the field isn’t done yet.
“I think that Travis is excited to come back and he finds a way to stay in shape and produce at a level only he can,” Veach stated during the Tuesday, Feb. 25 podcast episode.
“He makes us better when he’s in our locker room and on the field,” Veach added, noting that he and the rest of the Chiefs organization “anticipates” having Kelce back for another season.
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