Chris Jones hit back at former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum‘s comments about Travis Kelce. Recently, the current ESPN analyst shared his opinion that the Kansas City Chiefs should consider moving on from Kelce and be open to bringing in younger, more explosive talent.
Further, he argued that a player’s evaluation should be based on what they can contribute in the future rather than solely on past accomplishments. According to him, the 36-year-old is well past his prime, especially given his 2025 performance.
Jones recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his blunt response to Tannenbaum’s comments about Travis Kelce. He said, “shut up,” followed by a shush emoji. Recently, Tannenbaum said the Kansas City Chiefs should consider letting Kelce go and be open to hiring new tight ends. He said, “I would move on from Travis Kelce. Let me tell you why. When you’re in the front office, you have to project what a player is going to do, not what they’ve done.”
While he acknowledged the milestones Kelce achieved with the team, he believes he’s well past his peak, given the decline in his performance in 2025. He elaborated, “Travis Kelce is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but when you watch him and make an honest and sober evaluation of his 2025 performance, clearly his best days are behind him. If I was Kansas City, I would make the right, albeit difficult, decision to move on from Travis Kelce.” He shared that the Chiefs should consider recruiting “younger and more explosive” talent.
During his previous , Jones shared his thoughts on Kelce’s playing career, revealing that he has faith Kelce will return to the field. He said, “I’m not buying it, he’ll be back next year. I can’t promise you anything about another man. This was a tricky year for us. I have faith in my dawg coming back.” It is worth noting that Kelce has yet to decide whether he’ll play another season or retire, which he’ll likely do in early March.
Originally reported by Shazmeen Navrange on Mandatory.