Andy Reid is shaking off the idea that Travis Kelce wasn’t ready for the season.
Kelce, who is in countless commercials and famously dating Taylor Swift, has just eight catches for 69 yards in three games this season.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Reid, the Chiefs’ head coach, was adamant that Kelce’s extra-curricular activities have not hampered the tight end’s production.
“I know people are saying that he’s old or whatever, that he has distractions, and all this. The defenses don’t think that,” Reid said. “We have another receiver opposite him that has a lot of yards and catches. That’s how this thing goes. Trav is fine. He just keeps being Trav. He works his tail off and he hasn’t lost a step. He’s not distracted. That’s not the case. [Opposing defenses] are making sure he’s taken care of.”
The Chiefs are 3-0, which makes it simpler for Reid to overlook Kelce’s production decline.
One of the most vocal analysts who has said that Kelce is distracted is Todd McShay, the former ESPN personality, who spoke about Kelce being “out of shape” amid all the “jet-setting” he’s done with Swift on Ryen Russillo’s podcast on The Ringer.
“Every show I watch, every pregame show, halftime show, postgame show, weekday show, every broadcast I watch for the last few weeks, it’s like are we not allowed to say that he’s out of shape, that he’s been partying all offseason? He’s been jet-setting around with the most famous person probably in the entire world, that he’s drinking, going to the U.S. Open,” McShay told Russillo on Monday.
“… What I do know is, I want you to take a picture from preseason 2022 and then take a picture preseason 2024, they’re barely the same human being, Ryen, and everyone’s like, ‘We got to get him the ball, why isn’t he part of the offense?’ The defense is double-covering.’ Here’s the thing, bottom line with Kelce: The coverage and the respect he gets is the same, the athlete is not. Now, is he going to work himself into shape during the season? Yeah, I’m sure he will. He’s an unbelievable competitor, he’s one of the best to ever do it and he still finds a way to make a play or two here and there and shows up in some clutch moments, but he’s not the same guy right now.”
Earlier this week, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was on a similar wavelength to what Reid said.
“It’s crazy because teams still — the respect factor they have for Travis is just unreal. It’s well-deserved,” Mahomes told reporters.
“We’re calling a lot of plays for Travis and it’s like two or three people are going to him. He understands — that’s the great thing about him is he wants to make an impact on the game but he wants to win at the end of the day.
“I’m gonna try to do my best to keep feeding him the ball whenever he’s there, whenever he’s open. I think the more Rashee [Rice] makes plays, the more we’re able to run the football, the more we can get [Xavier] Worthy involved, I think that’s going to open Travis up more. People are really emphasizing trying to take him away and that’s getting other guys open.”