Ex-Chiefs Super Bowl champ returns to Arrowhead Stadium, ready to end retirement
Tyrann Mathieu raised eyebrows earlier this year when he retired from the NFL at the age of 33.
A three-time All-Pro defensive back, Mathieu had helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV before signing with the New Orleans Saints in 2022. After three seasons in the Big Easy, Mathieu called it quits.
But Mathieu seems to be interested in putting on the pads again.
Mathieu was a guest on the “Up & Adams” show Monday and host Kay Adams asked if he was ready to come back to NFL.
“For the right situation, who isn’t?” Mathieu said. “I love this game.”
Here’s the intriguing twist to the story: Adams was doing her show from Arrowhead Stadium. She asked if Mathieu could come back.
“I’m not going to say no,” Mathieu said. “I won’t say no.”
Mathieu admitted he planned to visit with general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid. Mathieu noted that his son plays on a football team with Reid’s grandson.
Any visit with Veach and Reid could simply be about seeing an old friend, but Mathieu said he would love to help the Chiefs make a playoff push.
“It’s the fact that you want to help your friends,” Mathieu said. “You know, I mean, you want your friends to have a fighting chance. I know fans hit me up all the time on Twitter, or X, and they want me to come back, but mostly they want me to come back to just provide that energy, that attitude, so I think we’ve been missing a little bit of that.”
Mathieu also diagnosed what he thought was the issue with the Chiefs this season, why they could make a playoff run and what they need to do ahead of the 2025 season in that interview.
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 8:48 AM.
