As noted this afternoon, tight end Travis Kelce becomes a free agent tomorrow. Against that basic background are conflicting reports as to whether he’ll possibly play for a team other than the Chiefs.
Earlier tonight, The Athletic reported that Kelce is expected to return for a 14th NFL season, but that it’s not a “sure thing” he’ll re-sign with the Chiefs. Thereafter, Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press pointed out his Scouting Combine-week report that, if Kelce plays, he’ll play only for the Chiefs, and won’t test the market.
Per The Athletic, Kelce’s agents are expected to talk to multiple teams once the negotiating period opens.
The truth could be as simple as this — the Chiefs’ current offer falls below Kelce’s expectations. If it doesn’t improve, Kelce could (in theory) see what else is out there. For now, the notion that his agents will listen to other teams could be nothing more than an effort to shake more cash from the Kansas City tree.
Kelce’s availability creates a rare situation in which a team’s business interests could override its football interests. The coaches and the scouting staff may put one value on Kelce’s perceived role and contributions; the sales and marketing folks may feel very differently about what it’s worth to have Kelce in the fold.
Again, he’s a superstar. Taylor Swift will attend one or more home games, presumably. The Swifties will buy his new jersey in droves. It’s a moneymaker for a business that is, no matter what they say publicly, is aimed at making as much money as possible.
It may take a big offer from a new team to get the most out of the Chiefs, with Kelce potentially taking much less than he could get elsewhere to stay with the only NFL franchise he’s ever known. In the end, however, he wouldn’t be the first player a team lowballs based on his perceived unwillingness to leave, prompting him to look around and, quite possibly, to take a much better offer from someone else.
Chiefs Clips
After agreeing to trade for Trent McDuffie, the Rams have now reached an agreement on a contract extension with the cornerback.
McDuffie has agreed to a four-year, $124 million extension that includes $100 million guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The initial reported numbers indicate the new deal will make McDuffie the highest-paid cornerback in the league with an average annual value of $31 million in new money.
McDuffie, 25, spent his first four seasons with the Chiefs, winning a pair of Super Bowls with the club. He was an AP first-team All-Pro honoree in 2023.
McDuffie has recorded 34 passes defensed, eight forced fumbles, 5.5 sacks, and three interceptions in his career.
The trade to send him from the Chiefs to the Rams will become official this week with the start of the new league year.
Cornerback Trent McDuffie is set to officially join the Rams in a trade with the Chiefs this week and he could also have a new contract soon.
NFL Media reports that McDuffie and the Rams have made “significant progress” toward a long-term extension that would make him the league’s highest-paid cornerback. There is hope that the deal will be done in the near future.
Sauce Gardner of the Colts is currently at the top of the cornerback pay chart with an average annual salary of $30.1 million per year.
McDuffie is currently in the fifth year of his rookie deal and set to make $13.632 million for the 2026 season.
The Rams agreed to trade the 29th overall pick in this year’s draft along with 2026 fifth- and sixth-round picks and a 2027 third-round pick to Kansas City for McDuffie. The trade can become official at the start of the new league year on Wednesday.
The first question for veteran tight end Travis Kelce is whether he’ll play in 2026. Implicit in that question is whether he’ll play for the Chiefs.
Lost in the will-he-or-won’t-he is the reality that his contract expires this week. He’s a free agent, able to freely negotiate with other teams as of Monday.
There has been no indication that another team plans to aggressively pursue him once the negotiating window opens at noon ET on March 9. But any team can.
It’s impossible to imagine Kelce wearing a different uniform. He has played for the Chiefs continuously, in a career that began in 2013. His career went to the next level once Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback in 2018, sparking five Super Bowl appearances and three championships.
Still, money talks. If the Chiefs don’t want to pay very much for another season and another team shows up with a significant offer, will that get Kelce’s attention? Matt Nagy, who has worked for the Chiefs throughout Kelce’s career, is now the offensive coordinator of the Giants. Although Kelce’s post-football career hardly needs a New York City bump, it couldn’t hurt to finish up in the nation’s top market with a team that is trying to build something positive.
How about his hometown Browns? He could see that as an attractive way to close out his career, if he thinks the Chiefs aren’t realistically in the Super Bowl window for 2026.
The Chiefs missed the postseason last year. Are they closer to being a non-playoff team than they are to being a Super Bowl champion? Kelce could be making a clear-eyed, objective assessment of that question before putting pen to paper.
It all comes down to what Kelce wants to do. The reality is that, as of Monday, he can do whatever he wants — including agreeing to terms with a different team. Until he says he’s playing for the Chiefs, there’s a non-zero chance he’ll be playing for someone else.
Here’s something to remember: Kelce is a superstar who transcends the gridiron. Wherever he plays, he also brings with him the Taylor Swift factor.
Regardless of how he advances the team’s on-field prospect, Kelce would be GREAT for business. And football is above all else a business. Why wouldn’t any football business that wants to maximum earnings consider trying to go into business with Travis Kelce?
The Chiefs are bringing long snapper James Winchester back for the 2026 season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they have agreed on a one-year deal with Winchester. The deal calls for Winchester to make $1.75 million.
Winchester was the highest-paid long snapper during the 2025 season and he remains at the top of the list with this deal.
Winchester has played in all 181 regular season games and 25 playoff games that the Chiefs have played since he joined the team in 2015. Winchester, who has 17 career tackles, is tied for 11th in franchise history in regular season games played.
On draft day in 2025, all 32 teams began the first round with their original pick in place. This year is a whole lot different.
Five teams have two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft, and five other teams have none, after the Raiders got the Ravens’ 2026 and 2027 first-round picks by agreeing to trade Maxx Crosby.
The Raiders have their own first-round pick (No. 1 overall) and the Ravens’ first-round pick (No. 14).
The Jets have their own first-round pick (No. 2) and the Colts’ first-round pick (No. 16) from the Sauce Gardner trade.
The Browns have their own first-round pick (No. 6) and the Jaguars’ first-round pick (No. 24) from last year’s draft-day trade that allowed the Jaguars to draft Travis Hunter.
The Chiefs have their own first-round pick (No. 9) and the Rams’ first-round pick (No. 29) from the Trent McDuffie trade.
The Cowboys have their own first-round pick (No. 12) and the Packers’ first-round pick (No. 20) from the Micah Parsons trade.
Five other teams don’t have a first-round pick: The Falcons, Ravens, Colts, Packers and Jaguars.
The teams with two first-round picks all missed the playoffs last season and know they have some rebuilding to do. Those picks can be their building blocks.
Jawaan Taylor has reached the end of the line with the Chiefs.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Kansas City has informed Taylor that he will be released on Wednesday.
Reports emerged earlier this week that the Chiefs were planning on releasing Taylor. At that point, there was a chance Kansas City could find a trade partner for the veteran tackle. But with no trade partner materializing, Kansas City will now let Taylor go, allowing him to get a bit of a head start on the rest of the free agent market.
By releasing Taylor, the Chiefs will save $20 million against the cap for 2026.
Taylor signed with the Chiefs in 2023, winning Super Bowl LVIII with the club. But Taylor has struggled at right tackle, particularly over the last two seasons. In his total time wit the Chiefs, he racked up eight penalties for being lined up too deep in the backfield for an illegal formation.
A second-round pick in 2019, Taylor played his first four seasons with the Jaguars.
The Chiefs have agreed to trade Trent McDuffie to the Rams when the new league year opens next week, but they weren’t the only NFC team pursuing a deal for the cornerback.
Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star reports that the Giants were also engaged in conversations with the Chiefs about a deal. The Chiefs ultimately decided to move forward with the Rams’ offer of the 29th overall selection and three other picks.
The Giants have the fifth overall pick in April’s draft, but it’s not clear what they were willing to give up in exchange for McDuffie.
With that door now closed, the Giants will have to look elsewhere for help at cornerback. They could trade for another player or they could target McDuffie’s Chiefs teammate Jaylen Watson and others in free agency.
Rams General Manager Les Snead said on Tuesday that it would be nice to add an All-Pro to the team’s secondary and he has used one of the team’s two first-round picks to pull that off.
Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie was mentioned as a potential target for the Rams in recent day and there are multiple reports on Wednesday that the Rams have agreed to trade for the 2023 first-team All-Pro. The Rams will trade the 29th overall pick in this year’s draft to the Chiefs as part of a package that also includes 2026 fifth- and sixth-round picks and a 2027 third-round pick.
McDuffie is set to make $13.6 million this year after the Chiefs exercised their fifth-year option on his contract. The Rams will presumably move to sign McDuffie to a long-term deal as well.
McDuffie was also a second-team All-Pro in 2024 and he had 63 tackles, an interception, a sack, and a forced fumble in 13 games for the Chiefs last season.
The Rams fell short of the Super Bowl in January because they could not beat the Seahawks on the road in the NFC Championship Game.
Matthew Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns in Seattle and the Rams sacked Sam Darnold three times, but the Seahawks quarterback and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba tore their defense apart when he had enough time to throw. Darnold and Smith-Njigba hooked up 10 times for 153 yards and one of Darnold’s three touchdown passes, so it wasn’t surprising to hear Rams General Manager Les Snead prioritizing help in the defensive backfield on Tuesday.
“Is there an All-Pro that you could add?” Snead said, via Nate Atkins of TheAthletic.com. “That would be nice.”
There aren’t any All-Pros available in free agency, but a trade could be a possibility and the chances of making one are helped by the Rams holding a pair of first-round picks this year. Snead’s well known for saying “f—k them picks” while building the Rams’ Super Bowl LXI winners and he said on Tuesday that he’s looking for “a player who is going to give us an edge and make an impact.”
Atkins suggests Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie as a Rams target as he is looking for a new contract and played for Rams defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake while in college. McDuffie has been named an All-Pro and the coming days should bring more of an idea about whether Snead will be pushing to bring him to Los Angeles.
