Travis Kelce may very well go down as the greatest tight end in NFL history … Some even believe he already is.
Regardless of where you rank him, it’s become clear this season that his best years are behind him.
At 34-years-old, Kelce is having another great season statistically – and you know when push comes to shove, he’s still going to find a way to get wide open.
However, it’s more than fair to admit that he’s lost a step, especially with his explosiveness … People around the league are starting to take notice of that, including one anonymous general manager who spoke to Mike Sando of The Athletic.
“I was watching him run down on that Hail Mary (against Green Bay), and I was thinking he might be almost done … I say that understanding he has been productive at times this year. But you know what the first sign of decline for a player like Travis Kelce is? That he is not the same player late in the season. It means his body is not recovering,” the GM told Sando.
WOW: A rival #NFL general manager says that #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce might almost be done playing football and that he is declining.
“I was watching him run down on that Hail Mary (against Green Bay), and I was thinking he might be almost done. I say that understanding he has… pic.twitter.com/lZAKlnircu
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 14, 2023
Contrastingly, an NFL offensive coach interviewed by Sando disagreed, stating: “He has never been good lining up and beating a guy press-man on him.”
Situational nitpicking aside, more people than not agree with the overall message the GM was trying to get across.
It’s not that Kelce is looking old out there, because he’s certainly not. He can play several more seasons if he wants to. However, it’s that next-level gear that seems to have become unattainable for him.
It’s also hard to ignore the fact that Kelce seems to have more significant drops this year than the past few combined.
That may be a bit of an exaggeration – but he has dropped some big passes this season that he never used to.
If The Kansas City Chiefs don’t make a Super Bowl appearance. Taylor Swift will drop Travis Kelce without looking back.
— John (@hubbajw) December 11, 2023
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Kelce opened up about contemplating retirement more than people might imagine. T
he eight-time Pro Bowler attributed these thoughts to the toll that injuries and the physical demands of the sport have taken on his body.
“That’s the only thing I’ve never really been open about, the discomfort. The pain,” he said. “The lingering injuries, the 10 surgeries I’ve had that I still feel every single surgery to this day.”
Again, there’s no denying Kelce is still an elite-level player. If the Chiefs are going to make noise this postseason, he’s going to be a major reason why.
With 80 receptions, 896 yards and five touchdowns, he’s a lock to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the eight straight season (unless I’m the biggest jinx in the world, which is quite possible).
Having said all of this, do you think his relationship with Taylor Swift has negatively affected him on the field?
Of course, there will be a ton of people who think it’s ridiculous to even ask that question – But that doesn’t mean it’s not fair to wonder…
Swift or no Swift, do you notice a drop in Kelce’s overall explosion and effectiveness?
As far as their relationship, some people love it, some people hate it, some people are downright sick of it … While it’s no ones business what Kelce does in his free time, you can bet that Chiefs fans are hoping that when push comes to shove, “the old Kelce” will show up locked, loaded and focused.