Arrowhead Pride
On Wednesday, Kansas City’s star tight end reflected on why he doesn’t want to miss a moment of action.
As Super Bowl LIX approaches, the future of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been a frequent media topic. While the franchise legend’s responses have at times been vague, Kelce has consistently said that he would like to continue playing beyond this season.
The 35-year-old reiterated that stance on Wednesday. He credited his personal trainer, Alex Skacel, and Chiefs assistant trainer, David Glover, with keeping him on the field. He also knows to make wise decisions during games to preserve his health.
“I want to play as long as I can play,” remarked Kelce. “I don’t know if that’s three years or what the count is, but I would say according to my health, I have a good routine set for myself. I try and keep myself out of certain situations on the field, and on top of that, just making sure that I’m always activating certain muscles and reducing the opportunity for me to get injured.
“I think that’s the biggest thing. I have a trainer, Alex Skacel. I’ve got the trainers in the in the building in Kansas City. My guy Glover is my go-to guy, and I just lean on them when whenever I do feel discomfort. I’m just trying to grind it out when I when I do.
“You signed up for the gig, so you’ve got to do it, man.”
Even in what is considered a down year by his Hall of Fame standards, Kelce still totaled 823 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Shockingly, he was in on 84% of the Chiefs’ regular season offensive snaps — his highest offensive snap count since 2020. Kelce played 92% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game.
In his own media comments on Wednesday, quarterback Patrick Mahomes noted that Kelce likely has the opportunity to lessen his role but chooses to stay on the field.
“I think it’s a level of leadership, someone that comes to work every single day,” said Mahomes. “Obviously with his career, he could take reps off. He can kind of wait to play on the game days. That’s not his personality. He wants to be out there. He wants to put the work in, and whenever you have a Hall of Fame guy putting the work in, it kind of bleeds through the rest of the football team.”
Head coach Andy Reid described managing Kelce’s reps as a futile endeavor on Wednesday.
“You see it every day,” the coach recalled, “that he goes 100 miles an hour. He wants to be in on every snap. We monitor that, but he wants to fight you when he has to come out. It’s the same way during games. It doesn’t matter if it’s a walkthrough [or] if it’s full-speed practice, he wants to be a part of it and be in there — and it’s not just...
