‘The possibilities seem endless’: Chiefs tight ends preparing for a team without Travis Kelce

ST JOSEPH, Mo (News-Press NOW) -- Since Patrick Mahomes became the Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018, his favorite target has always been Travis Kelce and the tight end group.

With retirement looming for the 13-year veteran, the Chiefs have bolstered the tight end room with a veteran presence in Robert Tonyan and two younger guys in Noah Gray and Jared Wiley.

"The possibilities with the guys in that room seems endless," said tight end Jared Wiley.

Jared Wiley was drafted in the 2024 NFL draft in the fourth round and missed most of his rookie season due to an ACL injury. Wiley touched on the injury recovery process and how hard it was to watch every game.

"You really feel like you're missing out, getting to watch these guys play on Sundays while you're just at the house with you're feet kicked back," Wiley said. "It sucked."

Wiley is listed as tight end four behind newly signed Robert Tonyan.

Tonyan is entering his ninth season after spending the first eight years of his career in the NFC North. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2018 and spent six seasons there, then signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears in 2023, and spent the 2024 season on the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad.

Travis Kelce talked about how much it means to have Tonyan in the room and the energy he brings to work every day.

"It's just a pleasure to have that guy in here, man," Kelce said. "Always a high-energy guy, always in a good mood, and ready to play some football the right way."

Tonyan broke out in 2020 with the Packers, where he had 586 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has yet to break 500 yards or double-digit touchdowns since his 2020 season.

Tonyan provides another veteran leader in the tight end room with Jared Wiley and Noah Gray.

Noah Gray was drafted by the Chiefs in the 2021 NFL draft and has been learning behind Travis Kelce ever since. Gray has always been consistent when the Chiefs needed him most. If Kelce were to go down with an injury, Chiefs fans knew Gray would be able to handle the spotlight.

Gray has been slowly improving his stats throughout his four-year career, accumulating more receiving yards and receiving touchdowns as the years progress.

Gray talked about how Chiefs Training Camp can help players pull out energy they thought they might not have had.

"Digging deep, finding that second burst of energy. You have to push past the tiredness and mistakes can happen when you're tired," Gray said. "I think it's a huge benefit that you're out here with the guys, that you're pushing past that and you're trying to focus while you're tired."

Noah Gray is the contender to replace Travis Kelce if he were to retire after the 2025 season.

You can not mention tight ends without talking about Travis Kelce. Kelce holds many of the Chiefs' franchise records for a tight end, including:

• Career receiving yards (12,151)
• Career receptions (1,004)
• Career receiving touchdowns (77)
• Most consecutive and most 1,000-yard seasons for a tight end (7)

Travis Kelce has solidified himself as one of the best tight ends in franchise history and is considered one of the greatest tight ends of all time, and his career could be coming to an end very soon.

The speculation on whether Kelce was going to retire or not before the 2025 season was the only thing people could talk about.

But Kelce decided to come back for another season and another training camp in St. Joseph.

When he was asked what his favorite memory of training camp in St. Joseph was, Kelce kept it light-hearted and said, "Ask me that when I retire."

The tight ends all know it could be Kelce's last year in the red and gold, so they have their sights set on getting back to the Super Bowl to give Kelce one last ride.