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Travis Kelce has not looked like the Travis Kelce we’ve come to know three games in the current NFL season, and veteran NFL analyst Todd McShay made it pretty clear he thinks the tight end’s relationship with Taylor Swift has contributed to his underwhelming performance so far.
The Kansas City Chiefs are once again one of the best teams in the NFL after getting off to a 3-0 start. However, there are more than a few areas of concern, including the loss of Isiah Pacheco (who may be out for the season after breaking his leg) and the uncharacteristically quiet start Travis Kelce has gotten off to.
The 34-year-old tight end snagged four passes for 30 yards in Kansas City’s win over the Falcons on Sunday, but the fact that those were both season-highs paints a pretty disappointing picture when you consider he’s only recorded eight receptions, 69 yards, and zero touchdowns three weeks into the year.
Patrick Mahomes did what he could to address those concerns following their most recent victory by noting the Chiefs are attempting to get Kelce involved but consistently have to deal with double and triple coverage targeted at the nine-time Pro Bowler.
However, Todd McShay seems to think there are some other factors at play.
During a recent appearance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast, the former ESPN staple called attention to what he positioned as the elephant in the room by suggesting Kelce was too busy partying and “jet-setting” with Taylor Swift in the offseason to adequately prepare for the job he’s getting paid $17 million a year to do.
@russillopod Todd McShay discusses Travis Kelce’s lack of production so far this season. #nfl #chiefs #kansascitychiefs #traviskelce #RussilloPod
Here’s what he had to say:
“Are we not allowed to say that he’s out of shape? That he’s been partying all offseason? That he’s been jet-setting around with the most famous person probably in the entire world?
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. But he’s not the same guy right now.”
McShay went out of his way to attempt to assuage Swifties by saying he wasn’t pinning the blame on Taylor but implied his extracurriculars with the singer and the time he’s devoted to filming commercials and other social obligations have made it “impossible” for him to get in the shape he’s expected to be in.
Kelce has plenty of time to prove the haters wrong, but it’s safe to assume we’ll be treated to plenty of similar takes if he’s not able to turn things around sooner rather than later.