Bold NFL Predictions for 2025: Kelce retires on top after Chiefs three-peat

Trying to be a football prognosticator is not for the faint of heart.

Sure, there are some constants, like the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs, but the NFL is a rapidly evolving league where parity is paramount. Almost every year, one team goes from worst to first in its division.

Add in the unpredictable injuries that turn a team's season upside down, and making bold predictions seems like a fool's errand.

But where's the fun in that? Just imagine if you were the one who predicted that Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings would be gunning for the NFC's No. 1 seed this season.

So, without further ado, we offer up five bold NFL predictions for 2025.

Travis Kelce retires after three-peat with Chiefs

It's not necessarily a bold prediction to say that the Kansas City Chiefs will repeat as Super Bowl Champions for a third straight season. Though we will mention that no team in NFL history has ever accomplished the feat, so the odds are certainly stacked against them.

No, the boldness of this prediction is what comes next: After he adds a fourth Super Bowl to his trophy case, Travis Kelce, one of the greatest tight ends in league history, will hang up his cleats and go out on top.

Kelce has nothing left to prove. He heads into 2025 as a seven-time All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler, and teamed up with Mahomes to form one of the greatest QB-pass catcher combinations the league has ever seen.

Kelce's numbers have slipped a bit, but it's not like the 35-year-old couldn't have a few more productive years. Just look what he did on Christmas Day, when he had eight catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. However, there are factors other than just his play that might be impacting his decision.

He has one of the most popular sports podcasts in the world with his brother Jason, he's about to make his film debut in Happy Gilmore 2, and yes, there is also that world-famous musician who attends some of his games that he probably wouldn't mind spending a little more time with.

It all adds up to a second straight off-season with a Kelce retirement.

Bryce Young leads Panthers to NFC South title

All aboard the Bryce Young resurgence train.

After an early benching this season, it seemed like the writing was on the wall for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick.

But since being handed back the reins in Week 8, Young has looked like a completely different QB.

The Panthers still aren't winning games this season, but they've at least been competitive since Young was back behind centre.

They've put themselves in the perfect spot for the beginning of next season. Carolina should end up with a top-10 pick in the draft to address a few of its many needs, and it also will have a confident Young, who proved to himself and the coaching staff that he has what it takes to play in the NFL.

Additionally, if you look around the NFC South, none of the other teams scream perennial Super Bowl contender at the moment.

So for that annual team that goes from division-worst to division-best, why not the Panthers?

Mike Vrabel, Tee Higgins make Patriots relevant again

It's felt weird to have the New England Patriots out of the playoff picture for the past two seasons.

But with the additions of one new and one familiar face, 2025 is the year the Patriots re-enter the fold.

The Jerod Mayo experiment doesn't seem to be going extremely well in New England, but another former player is reported to have interest in the head coaching job, and it's a fit that will be too good for the Patriots to pass up.

It was a shocking devlopment this off-season when Mike Vrabel went unhired as a head coach after he and the Tennessee Titans parted ways. But maybe this was all part of Vrabel's plan. Wait things out before rejoining the organization he had so much success with as a player.

The 2021 NFL Coach of the Year has proved he has what it takes to be an NFL head coach, and the Pats would be smart to bring him in this off-season.

It won't be the only big splash they make in 2025, as they will also go out and finally get a star wide receiver for their young QB Drake Maye.

Tee Higgins' contract negotiations with the Cincinnati Bengals were a mess last off-season, and the Bengals opted to franchise-tag the 25-year-old instead. The Bengals also still have to sign Ja'Marr Chase, and that will be their No. 1 priority.

Meanwhile, the Pats are sorely lacking offensive weapons for Maye to utilize, and have money to spend. Seems like the perfect landing spot for Higgins, who can get the payday he desires and finally become a team's No. 1 option.

Vrabel, Higgins and the Patriots making a run at a wild-card spot next season: Who says no?

49ers move on from Brock Purdy

This was a year to forget for the San Francisco 49ers. It started in February with a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, then continued into this season when the injury bug was too much for the defending NFC champs to overcome.

Things aren't going to get any easier for the 49ers in the off-season, as QB Brock Purdy becomes eligible for a contract extension on Jan. 5, when San Francisco's season comes to an end.

Reports suggest that Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, is going to want something close to $60 million a year.

With an aging core, and other key pieces that are also going to need to be signed, the 49ers cut bait with the QB who led them to a Super Bowl, and let another team let Purdy prove whether or not he's really worth $60 million a year.

Raiders make historic trade to get Shedeur Sanders

This was a bad year to be bad in the NFL. As we head into the final two weeks of the season, nine teams have four or fewer wins.

That means with just one win, a team can completely ruin its draft stock. Just ask the Las Vegas Raiders, who with a Week 16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars saw their draft spot fall from a top-two spot to No. 6.

But the Raiders are one team that desperately needs a QB, and reports all year have surfaced that they've had their eyes on Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders as the future face of their franchise.

If the Raiders finish the season outside the top two selections, expect them to stop at nothing to bring Sanders to Vegas.

We wouldn't put it past Raiders owner Mark Davis to make NFL history by trading a record amount of assets just to make sure Sanders is wearing black and silver in 2025.