Could Commanders benefit from 'absurd' Chiefs cap casualty?

If the Kansas City Chiefs do the unthinkable, the Washington Commanders could be one of the team's to line up to take advantage of it.

Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) against the Buffalo Bills during the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

If Zach Ertz can do what he just got done doing with the Washington Commanders, then Travis Kelce certainly could do the same or better.

And if, for some reason, Ertz and the Commanders don't continue their partnership in 2025, perhaps Kelce could do something absolutely absurd and land in the DMV for his final season or two.

Before you throw eggs at us, this isn't our original idea. That blame belongs to NFL.com who suggested Kelce could be a cap casualty, opening the door for Washington or any other franchise to try and convince the tight end to continue playing for them.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"Yes, this is absurd," the NFL.com analyst writes. "Cutting a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest playoff pass-catcher in NFL history? Nonsense. Right?! Well, not necessarily. Assuming Travis Kelce doesn’t retire this spring, the Chiefs could probably restructure his contract to make it work until he does hang up the cleats. But it’s not impossible that they let him go for a whopping $17.3 million in cap savings, considering the 35-year-old has now posted consecutive seasons with fewer than 1,000 yards and had just eight receiving touchdowns in 2023 and 2024 combined (not counting playoffs, of course). Kelce’s efficiency has plummeted these last two years, and it might be time for Kansas City to move on (if he doesn’t do so himself). Again, this would be crazy, but Kansas City has split with legendary tight ends amidst solid production before (SEE: Gonzalez, Tony)."

No amount of justification will make this make sense, but since it is out there for all to see, there's no harm in imagining a reality where not only does Kelce decide to keep playing but opts to go out for revenge at least twice against the team that cost him a piece of three-peat history.

For Washington, with Ben Sinnott waiting in the wings to take over tight end No. 1 duties sometime in the near future, getting an education from Ertz and Kelce in his first two years would be one hell of a way to start an NFL career.

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