Priest Holmes just lost one of his most cherished records to Travis Kelce , but he ain't bitter about it ... in fact, the Kansas City legend is heaping praise on the tight end -- and the guy's future wife!!

The ex-Chiefs tailback chopped it up with TMZ Sports on Tuesday -- just hours after TK tied his K.C. record for career touchdowns with 83 -- and Holmes was anything but salty.

The 52-year-old offered up immediate congratulations ... while saying it'll be "pretty awesome" to see Kelce inevitably pass the coveted scoring mark later this season.

Then, Holmes doled out some big compliments to Taylor Swift -- revealing his daughters and grandkids are now far more involved with the NFL because of the pop star. Getty

Holmes, though, did make sure to note he will still always

See Full Page