KANSAS CITY, Mo. >> Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plans to play next season rather than retire.

The 35-year-old Kelce had been mulling whether to return for a 13th season. But the four-time All-Pro made his feelings clear in a text to Pat McAfee that the host read during “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday.

“My dawg!!! I’m coming back for sure,” the four-time All-Pro wrote, according to McAfee. “Gonna try to get to the best shape I’ve been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop. Got a real bad taste in my mouth about how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can’t go out like that!!!!”

The Chiefs’ quest to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls ended with a 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9.

Kelce professed his love for football several times leading up to the Super Bowl. But he also said on his podcast he would “take some time” to figure out if he would retire or return for another season.

Kelce’s decision is hardly a surprise, considering Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said Tuesday at the NFL combine that he was “”was fired up” to keep playing after the season ended.

Kelce’s contract includes an $11.5 million roster bonus due March 15. Veach said the team was moving forward with its offseason plans “as if he’s here.”

Buccaneers say they’re reinstating Jon Gruden into ring of honor >> The Tampa Bay Buccaneers say they’re reinstating former coach Jon Gruden into the team’s ring of honor less than four years after removing him over his use of racist, homophobic and misogynistic language in emails he wrote to an NFL executive.

“Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise,” the team said in a statement Thursday. “Upon further reflection, we have decided to reinstate him into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”

Gruden was inducted into the Bucs’ ring of honor in 2017 and was removed four years later amid the email scandal, which also led to his resignation as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach five games into the 2021 season.

Gruden’s comments were in emails written from 2011-18 to then-Washington club executive Bruce Allen. Gruden was not in the NFL during those years, when he was an analyst for ESPN. His emails were collected by independent investigators during an investigation of sexual harassment allegations and other workplace conditions at what was at the time known as the Washington Football Team.

Gruden coached the Buccaneers from 2002-2008, leading them to their first Super Bowl triumph in his first season in Tampa. He was 60-57 altogether in seven seasons with the Buccaneers, including 3-2 in the playoffs.

Kain Medano, Shemar Stewart deliver impressive workouts>> Jihad Campbell, Teddye Buchanan and Kain Medano had the strongest performances among linebackers on the first day of workouts on the NFL’s annual scouting combine.

Jalon Walker of Georgia, the top-rated linebacker in the draft, did not work out Thursday.

Without Walker, Alabam’s Campbell, California’s Buchanan and UCLA’s Medano stood out.

Medano posted the fastest time in the 40-yard dash at 4.46 seconds, was fourth in the vertical jump at 38 inches and was fifth in the broad jump at 10 feet, 5 inches.

Campbell, who could challenge Walker for the top spot, was second in the broad jump at 10-7 and third in the 40 at 4.52. He didn’t participate in the vertical jump.

Buchanan led the position group with a 40-inch vertical jump, was third in the broad jump at 10-5 and tied for ninth in the 40 at 4.61 seconds.

Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. was the fastest defensive lineman in Thursday’s workout, posting a time of 4.47. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Pearce was the only lineman to finish under 4.57 seconds.

But the most impressive workout among the defensive ends or defensive tackles came from Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M, who had the third-fastest 40 at 4.59 seconds and a 40-inch vertical jump to become just the fourth player in two decades to go over 40 inches after weighing in at 260 or more pounds. Stewart is listed at 6-5, 267.

Arkansas’ Landon Jackson also jumped 40 1/2 inches Thursday. The other two members of the club are No. 1 overall draft picks: Mario Williams in 2006 and Myles Garrett in 2017.

NFL salary cap reaches a record-high $279.2 million >> The NFL’s salary cap will be a record-high $279.2 million in 2025, an increase of $23.8 million.

The league informed teams of the new cap figure on Thursday during the NFL scouting combine.

The cap is up $102 million since 2018. It was $34.608 million in 1994, the first year the NFL had a salary cap. Total projected player costs, including benefits, are slotted at $362.48 million.

Teams must be under the cap by 4 p.m. ET on March 12.