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Travis Kelce has not gotten off to the start he, fans, and fantasy owners were hoping for this season, and the tight end wasn’t afraid to acknowledge that reality while shedding some light on his struggles.
The Kansas City Chiefs have reaped the benefits of having one of the most dominant tight ends in football history in the form of Travis Kelce, and there wasn’t any reason to believe he wouldn’t be a force to be reckoned with once again heading into a 2024 season where he had the chance to make the Pro Bowl for the 10th consecutive time.
Unfortunately, the 34-year-old has defied expectations for all of the wrong reasons. The Chiefs may be 3-0, but Kelce has only recorded eight receptions for 69 yards and has failed to score a single touchdown so far this year.
Patrick Mahomes tried to downplay the slow start while calling attention to the defensive attention a man who’s historically been one of his most reliable targets has a tendency to attract, but there are still plenty of people who’ve speculated his age is catching up to him and others who’ve predictably attempted to link his underwhelming performance to his escapees with Taylor Swift.
Kelce got the chance to address those concerns on the most recent installment of the New Heights podcast while recapping Kansas City’s win over the Falcons around the 13:00 mark, and he put on his Team Player hat while stressing he’s not overly worried about his individual performance as long as the team’s offense (which he acknowledged is still trying to firm up its identity thanks to some new additions) figures out how to get the job done:
“I think with how defenses are playing us right now, I’m not really getting a lot of opportunities to make plays down the field, but not using that as an excuse. Moving forward, still trying to make sure I can help the team out in that regard knowing I’ve been that weapon for us in the past…
I’m not getting caught up in getting the targets. I just want a successful offense…I’ve had a lot of catches in this league, man. I’m not worried about the catches and the yards and all of that.”
He also bluntly referred to his most recent performance as “trash” before backpedaling a bit while admitting there’s room for improvement, saying, “I’m playing winning football. It’s not trash. But it could be better.” As for concerns about his condition, he added, “I wish I played as good as I felt,”
He’ll have the chance to prove the haters and doubters wrong when the Chiefs head to Los Angeles to face off against the Chargers on Sunday.