{"id":185402,"date":"2026-05-11T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=185402"},"modified":"2026-05-11T08:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:00:44","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8the-chiefs-may-already-be-preparing-for-life-after-travis-kelce-while-almost-nobody-is-talking-about-it-publicly-many-around-the-league-believe-kansas-city-quietly-has-a-long-term-succes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=185402","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8THE CHIEFS MAY ALREADY BE PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER TRAVIS KELCE: While almost nobody is talking about it publicly, many around the league believe Kansas City quietly has a long-term succession plan in place \u2014 and the answer may be coming straight out of Chicago. If true, the Chiefs could once again be staying several steps ahead of the rest of the NFL \ud83d\udc40\u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 2027 tight end market is light, so getting ahead of the curve would be a good idea.<\/p>\n

While the 2026 draft is just in the books, it\u2019s never too early to start thinking about the 2027 season \u2014 and if there\u2019s one team that\u2019s already looking that far ahead, it\u2019s the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n

Star tight end Travis Kelce is almost certainly retiring after the 2026 campaign despite an inflated new deal, and looking at the Chiefs\u2019 depth chart, backup Noah Gray is not starting-caliber material. You could argue the team can scout for star talent in next year\u2019s draft, but that would come with significant risk and opportunity cost if a prospect isn\u2019t immediately NFL-ready.<\/p>\n

Instead, there\u2019s a potential solution general manager Brett Veach can utilize by acquiring an excess asset from another team.<\/p>\n

This Chiefs-Bears trade solves Kansas City\u2019s Travis Kelce problem<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs<\/strong>\u00a0Receive<\/strong>\u00a0TE Cole Kmet<\/p>\n

Chicago Bears<\/strong>\u00a0Receive<\/strong>\u00a0Conditional 2027 Fifth-Round Pick<\/p>\n

The Chicago Bears are clearly moving forward with 2025 first-round pick Colston Loveland as their TE1, in addition to taking blocking specialist Sam Roush out of Stanford in this year\u2019s draft. All of which leaves backup \u2014 and previous starter \u2014 Cole Kmet on the outside looking in. The 27-year-old still has a lot of high-quality football left to play, and he\u2019d certainly sign off on the opportunity to get starting snaps for a team with a championship window still wide open.<\/p>\n

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The problem is going to be convincing Chicago to pick up the phone in the first place. Kmet signed a restructured deal in April which disincentivizes the Bears from moving him until next year. A pre-June 1 deal would cost Chicago $4.1 million against the salary cap, while any swap after that date only saves the team $1.4 million.<\/p>\n

So, with the present season not really an option, these two teams would need to be negotiating with next year in mind as Kmet is projected to cost the Bears $15.4 million against the cap in 2027. That\u2019s the incentive Chicago needs to move him.<\/p>\n

At the moment, Kmet is worth a conditional 2027 fifth-round pick \u2014 which may sound cheap, but the devil is in the details. Chicago will certainly dictate that an escalator be attached to the pick: For example, if Kansas City misses the playoffs in 2027, then it remains a fifth-rounder but may be deferred until 2028. If they qualify for the postseason then it could stay in 2027. A championship could push it up a round or two (though that would be a tough sell for the Chiefs).<\/p>\n

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Kmet has topped 500 receiving yards in three of his six seasons in Chicago, so there\u2019s a good reason for Kansas City to inquire about his availability. The Bears, in turn, used a third-round pick to select Stanford\u2019s Sam Roush \u2014 signaling they too are preparing for Kmet\u2019s eventual departure.<\/p>\n

In a league where tight end talent is increasingly scarce and championship windows are unforgivingly short, this quiet, low-cost move could be the exact contingency plan Kansas City needs. While the rest of the NFL is still focused on the 2026 season, the Chiefs are already building the bridge to 2027 \u2014 and the blueprint starts in Chicago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2027 tight end market is light, so getting ahead of the curve would be a good idea. While the 2026 draft is just in the books,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":185404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-185402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n\ud83d\udea8THE CHIEFS MAY ALREADY BE PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER TRAVIS KELCE: While almost nobody is talking about it publicly, many around the league believe Kansas City quietly has a long-term succession plan in place \u2014 and the answer may be coming straight out of Chicago. 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