Let’s start with the obvious: of course it doesn’t look good when Travis Kelce is everywhere in the offseason from traveling the world to acting in a series to hosting a game show, and then the Kansas City Chiefs tight end isn’t producing on the field.
The problem is that it’s all in a vacuum. It doesn’t tell the whole tale for Kelce.
(And, no, this is not a BLAME IT ALL ON TAYLOR SWIFT argument. That is misogynistic and so very, very wrong. Get that out of here.)
Sure, the optics don’t look great, and it’s where talking heads like Todd McShay rip him for “partying all offseason” and Mike Francesa said “you would have to question how dedicated Kelce is to the sport right now.” Rodney Harrison talked about how “he’s got a lot on his plate.”
But let’s talk about some other factors, starting with his age. We’re talking about a soon-to-be 35-year-old tight end with 162 games under his belt. Father Time already started to catch up a bit last year, and here’s something you might want to know from Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab:
Kelce is already an anomaly at his age. There were a few productive tight ends at age 33, fewer at age 34 and it gets really thin once the bar slides to age 35. Kelce turns 35 in October, and based on the history of NFL tight ends he’s supposed to be retired or a non-factor by now.
No tight end in NFL history has had a 1,000-yard season at age 35 or older. Only Tony Gonzalez has reached 900 yards at that age, and only three others have even reached 700 yards (Ben Watson, Shannon Sharpe, Antonio Gates).
There are some other things to discuss, like how Patrick Mahomes is seeing Kelce doubled a lot (see below), or how Rashee Rice has stepped up to give Mahomes a true No. 1 receiver like he had in Tyreek Hill, or how maybe the Chiefs are playing chess not checkers here and making sure an older Kelce is fresh for the playoffs when it’ll really count.
When reading all of those critiques, I thought of Rob Gronkowski, who was known to enjoy himself in offseasons but who — like Kelce — was superhuman and who expanded his reach beyond NFL stadiums while playing Hall of Fame-level football.
He turned 35 in May and hasn’t played since 2021. That should tell you something.
Also, we can throw in that we’re three weeks into the season and the Chiefs are doing just fine. Give this a little time.
