There's been a narrative the last couple of seasons regarding Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce "slowing down" and not playing to the height of his abilities.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid took over the team the same year Kelce was drafted in 2013, so he has watched his NFL career from the start. Over Kelce's 12 NFL seasons, Reid admitted not much has changed about the star tight end's work ethic. Even at age 35, he still has the same drive to compete.
"He's still a really good football player," Reid said on the Pat McAfee Show. "He keeps himself in great shape, never wants to miss a rep in practice, hates coming out of the game—I mean, absolutely hates coming out of the game. I love that part of him."
"Travis Kelce never wants to miss a rep in practice and he absolutely hates coming out of the game..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 29, 2025
I love that about him" ~ Andy Reid #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/B1HWmPiE31
McAfee made a call back to Kelce's comment about him feeling "22" after the Chiefs' divisional win, which was him paying homage to his girlfriend Taylor Swift's popular song.
Even if Kelce's statistics aren't as great as they were before, he's still delivering in big moments on the field. In the Chiefs' two postseason games this year, Kelce's caught nine passes for 136 yards and one touchdown. His longest play was 49 yards.
Kelce is contemplating retirement this offseason, but he hasn't made any official decisions about his NFL career. It doesn't seem that his drive to play football has changed any, but we'll see what he chooses to do.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs’ Andy Reid Shared What He Really Loves About Travis Kelce.
