Getty Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Despite suffering an ankle sprain just two days prior, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid announced on Tuesday, October 10 that Travis Kelce would practice that day.
“He’s feeling a little bit better,” Reid said during his presser on Kelce’s injury status. “I’m just going to see how he does. We’ll see where it goes.”
The significance of Kelce’s participation during Tuesday’s session is that Kansas City is on a short week, as they will face the division-rival Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football on October 12. So, Kelce practicing on Tuesday puts him on track to play in Thursday’s game despite suffering the ankle sprain on Sunday.
Kelce has always been known as a gritty player who will battle through injuries to stay on the field. But his latest example of that shows how dedicated the 34-year-old tight end is to remaining on the field to help the Chiefs win games.
There is still another practice remaining and inactives don’t have to be filed until 90 minutes prior to kickoff Thursday night. But as it currently stands, Kelce should be on the field in Week 6 in some capacity.
Travis Kelce Injured Ankle Just Before Halftime
Late in the second quarter of the Chiefs’ Week 5 win over the Minnesota Vikings is when Travis Kelce suffered the ankle sprain.
Kelce threw his helmet in frustration after he jogged off the field under his own power following the play in which he was injured. He then went to the locker room with members of the training staff while the Chiefs offense was still on the field with under 10 seconds remaining in the half.
Despite being designated as questionable to return in the second half, Kelce began the third quarter by testing out his heavily taped right ankle. He then re-entered the game about midway through the third quarter.
During the first offensive drive he was back in the game following the injury, Kelce caught 5 passes for 45 yards and scored a touchdown from four yards out on a pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Kelce finished the game with 10 catches on 11 targets for 67 yards and the 1 touchdown.
Patrick Mahomes connects with TE Travis Kelce for a 4-yard TD. PAT is good.
After the game, Andy Reid detailed the sequence of events that led to Kelce going back into the game despite spraining his ankle.
“No, it wasn’t clear (that Kelce was going back in the game),” Reid said during his postgame press conference on October 8. “Until he came out and told me. You guys probably saw that. But he said, just give me a minute. I’m going to get this thing right. So he did a bunch of drills on his own they’re just working with it. You know, our training staff was working with him during halftime, and Rick does a great job. Pretty amazing.”
Twitter Reacts to Andy Reid’s Update
Users on Twitter/X reacted to Andy Reid’s update on Travis Kelce.
“The Chiefs have zero reasons to take this game seriously. They could bench the entire offense and still put up 50+ points against the Broncos defense,” one user wrote.
@AdamSchefter The Chiefs have zero reasons to take this game seriously. They could bench the entire offense and still put up 50+ points against the Broncos defense.
“Kelce about to go off for 150 yards and 2 TDs this week against Denver,” another user wrote.