Tight finish Travis Kelce turns 36 on Oct. 5 and appears like a declining participant. So, why are the Kansas City Chiefs nonetheless treating him like a No. 1 choice?
With the Chiefs trailing 13-10 within the fourth quarter in opposition to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, they focused the 10-time Professional Bowl TE within the purple zone, hoping he would ship. As an alternative, he bobbled the ball, and Eagles rookie security Andrew Mukuba grabbed an interception, which helped seal a 20-17 win for the reigning Tremendous Bowl champions.
The Chiefs, who’re 0-2 following the loss to Philadelphia, should make modifications heading into Sunday’s sport on the New York Giants (0-2). Ought to that embody counting on Kelce much less? In his Wednesday news conference, Kansas Metropolis quarterback Patrick Mahomes mentioned whether or not they need to try this.
Mahomes says they are not counting on Kelce an excessive amount of
“I do know he desires to be on the market on the finish of the day, he desires to have the prospect to make the performs occur, and he is made the performs occur for years,” the QB instructed the media. “I do not really feel like we ask an excessive amount of of him. We ask for him to be on the market and be himself, and simply be who he’s, and that in itself is sufficient for us.”
The longer term Corridor of Famer Kelce has been a cornerstone of the Chiefs’ passing offense in 13 seasons with the membership. He ranks first in franchise historical past in receiving yards (12,259) and landing catches (78).
Nevertheless, his numbers are dipping. Via two video games, the TE is averaging 54 receiving yards per sport, the fourth-lowest mark of his profession. Nonetheless, Kelce is second on the group in targets (10) behind huge receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (21).
Now, Kansas Metropolis could begin focusing on Kelce much less after WRs Xavier Worthy (shoulder) and rookie Jalen Royals (knee) return from accidents. Both practiced on Wednesday with no limitations. WR Rashee Rice, in the meantime, nonetheless should miss three extra video games after being suspended for his position in a multi-car crash in March 2024.
On Wednesday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid mentioned they’re going to proceed to look at Kelce’s workload. That appears good. The TE does not look as dependable as he was, and so they do not wish to be overdependent on him.
