"Playing for the honor of wearing the Chiefs' helmet": Travis Kelce opens up about "finishing the year off" in Vegas amid retirement rumors

Travis Kelce did not hold back on what drives him heading into Sunday's game. The Chiefs' tight end opened up about his mindset for the Las Vegas matchup while sidestepping questions about his future.

Kelce has won three championships in Kansas City and appeared in five Super Bowls.

The star pass-catcher shared his thoughts on the "New Heights" podcast.

"It's Vegas. Man, it's Raiders, Raiders week. Man, it's always, no matter what the score is, obviously two teams where we know our season ends after this Sunday, and you're just playing for the love of the game and the honor of wearing the Chiefs' helmet in a fierce rivalry man, and I know we've already beat them once we gave 'em a goose egg," Kelce said on Wednesday (Timecode: 49:10)

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"And they're going to be ready for this one. They're going to be excited for this one. And I know Pete Carroll is going to have the those guys fired up and ready to rock and roll, knowing how motivating he is. And they're at home where they're comfortable and and, yeah, I'm excited to go out to Vegas and finish this year off."

Kansas City shut out the Raiders earlier this season. Pete Carroll now coaches Las Vegas after taking over the struggling franchise.

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Travis Kelce stays coy on retirement plans after Christmas game

NFL: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs - Source: Imagn

The tight end isn't announcing his decision anytime soon. He pushed back on retirement talk following Thursday's loss to Denver at Arrowhead Stadium.

Kansas City fell 20-13 on Christmas in what could have been Kelce's final home game. He caught passes from Chris Oladokun with Patrick Mahomes sidelined by torn knee ligaments.

"A whole lot of emotions," Kelce said afterward, via ESPN. "You've got everybody in the world watching you. You get to go out there with the young guys on prime-time television."

The veteran now sits ninth in NFL history with 1,077 catches. He's 10 yards away from hitting 13,000 for his career and has logged 97 games inside Arrowhead Stadium across 13 seasons.

Edited by Aman Kashyap