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.

The four-time All-Pro wrote he’s “coming back for sure.” 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.

Carter’s injured foot won’t require surgery

Abdul Carter, the standout Penn State edge rusher and projected top pick in the 2025 NFL draft, has a stress reaction in his right foot that won’t require surgery.

Carter and his family, according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus, contemplated surgery as an option after receiving the injury news on Wednesday, but doctors assured the star edge rusher it would not be necessary.

The proposed surgery, according to ESPN, would have required a screw to be inserted in his right foot and would have kept him out for eight weeks.

The 6-foot-3, 252-pound Carter had already planned to sit out of on-field combine testing earlier this week as he’s recovering from a shoulder injury suffered during the Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup with Boise State on Dec. 31. Carter is expected to be ready to fully participate in Penn State’s March 28 pro day.

Hunter won’t work out at NFL Scouting Combine

Two-way star Travis Hunter says he won’t work out at the NFL scouting combine this week.

The Heisman Trophy winner might play both cornerback and wide receiver in the NFL next season after doing the same at Colorado.

Hunter said during his media availability in Indianapolis that it will be up to the team that drafts him to decide his primary position but that he hoped he would be allowed to line up on both sides of the ball.

Hunter says “I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I feel like I can keep doing it.”

Bucs putting Gruden back in ring of honor

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers say they’re reinstating former coach Jon Gruden into their ring of honor.

The move comes less than four years after they removed him from the ring over his use of racist, homophobic and misogynistic language in emails to an NFL executive while he was a television analyst.

Gruden resigned from his job as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders when reports of his comments surfaced early in the 2021 season.

MLB

Benintendi out several weeks with hurt hand

Chicago White Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi will miss four to six weeks with a broken hand after being hit by a pitch in a spring training game.

Benintendi was hit on the right hand with an 87 mph fastball by Cleveland Guardians right-hander Logan Allen in the first inning.

The White Sox announced the diagnosis as a non-displaced fracture with no surgery required.

The recovery timetable means Benintendi will almost certainly have to start the season on the injured list.

Benintendi signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the White Sox prior to the 2023 season.

Orioles remove All-Star Henderson as precaution

Baltimore Orioles star shortstop Gunnar Henderson was removed from a spring training game because of lower right side discomfort.

Henderson, the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year and a 2024 All-Star Game selection, made a jumping catch of a line drive in the field against Toronto and grounded out in the first inning before he was taken out as a precautionary measure, manager Brandon Hyde said after the game. Hyde said Henderson felt his side tighten up after the catch, but that Henderson doesn’t need an MRI.

Henderson, who debuted with the Orioles in 2022 has never been on the injured list in the major leagues.

D’Backs lose pitchers to Tommy John surgery

Arizona Diamondbacks right-handed pitchers Thyago Vieira and Josh Winder both need Tommy John surgery, manager Torey Lovullo said.

Vieira and Winder were candidates for bullpen roles this season.

Vieira appeared in 11 games last season for the D-backs with a 2.87 ERA, striking out 14 batters over 15 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old made his big league debut in 2017 and has thrown in 53 big league games for five teams.

The 28-year-old Winder pitched for the Minnesota Twins in parts of the last three seasons and had a 3.00 ERA over four outings in 2024.

college basketball

St. Thomas men defeat visiting North Dakota

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team beat North Dakota 86-71 at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul.

The Tommies’ Miles Barnstable led all scorers with 25 points. Carter Bjerke ame off the bench to log 17 points for St. Thomas (21-9, 11-4 Summit).

Mambourou Mara scored 18 points to lead the Fighting Hawks (11-19, 5-10).

PGA

Knapp cards a 59 at Cognizant Classic

Jake Knapp joined the PGA Tour’s sub-60 club.

Knapp — the No. 99 player in golf’s current world rankings — shot a bogey-free 59 in the opening round of the Cognizant Classic at PGA National, the 15th time that someone has broken 60 in a PGA Tour event.

Knapp finished one shot off the tour scoring record of 58, done by Jim Furyk in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship.

Knapp became the 14th player to shoot a sub-60 round; it has been done 15 times, with Furyk the one who has carded such a round twice.

— From news services