You could see that the losing was getting to Tony Gonzalez. Even at the end of last year, he talked privately about &#8220;being open&#8221; to a trade out of Kansas City. He could see, like everyone could see, that the Chiefs were about to go into a long and painful rebuilding process. And he also knew he was about to turn 32.</p><p>Those two facts would not hook up on eHarmony. Older players don&#8217;t want to be part of rebuilding. That&#8217;s one of the oldest stories in sports.</p><p>He said that if the Chiefs were starting over, they should probably trade him. But again, that was private talk &#8212; not specifically off the record, but not on the record, either. It was just a man speaking out of frustration, a great player who could see the end of his career approaching and did not want to spend it losing games for a going-nowhere team. He said that if the Chiefs wanted to trade him, that might be the best thing for everybody. He asked me not to write it. I did not.</p><p>As you know, the Chiefs did not trade Tony Gonzalez. He tried to make the best of it. He said all the right things publicly. He loved Kansas City. He expected the team to improve. He believed in the direction. &#8220;I&#8217;m an optimist,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to stay optimistic, and I&#8217;m going to keep doing what I can to help this team win.&#8221;</p><p>But again, privately, he expressed some doubts, especially after the season began and things started even worse than he expected. At one point this season, Gonzalez told me he would retire at the end of the year rather than go through this kind of losing again. At another point, he admitted that he could not see any light at the end of the tunnel. Again, he said these things quietly, away from the cameras, and he asked me not to write it yet. He was just letting out a little bit of rage.</p><p>Tony Gonzalez is the greatest pass-catching tight end in NFL history. And he has never won a single playoff game. And now the Chiefs look to be light years away from contending again. I understood his anger and resentment.</p><p>Then last week, after that shameful 34-0 loss to Carolina, Gonzalez&#8217;s frustration was even more apparent. He said that he hoped the Chiefs would trade him during the bye week. He said that he no longer felt a part of things in Kansas City. &#8220;Something has to change,&#8221; he said. He was still a bit angry that Chiefs coach Herm Edwards and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey had not helped him break the tight-end record for most receiving yards at home against Denver. He finished three yards short and ended up breaking the record in the most meaningless fashion the next week in Carolina.</p><p>More, though, he felt like many of his teammates just didn&#8217;t get it.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s some talent here,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But we&#8217;re a long, long, long way away.&#8221;</p><p>This was the most despondent and disappointed I had seen him. But one more time he asked me not to write it. And so I did not.</p><p>It seems clear now that in those moments after the game, Tony was trying to figure out his next move. He was in a bad spot. On one hand, he plays for a dreadful football team and he&#8217;s signed for three more years after this, and he no doubt feels trapped.</p><p>On the other hand, the Chiefs have paid him a lot of money and the fans have given him a lot of cheers. If he came out publicly and said he wanted out, he might come off looking pretty bad to his teammates and coaches and probably to many fans. Gonzalez prides himself on being a team player. Plus, he did not want to make this season any more miserable than it had already become.