At 34 years old and with 170 NFL games under his belt (not including the preseason), it would not be surprising if Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is used to feeling pain on a daily basis. But he hasn’t been very vocal about feeling that way.
At least not until now.
During a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kelce opened up about the “physical anguish” he’s feeling from many years of playing a very physical sport.
“That’s the only thing I’ve never really been open about,” Kelce told J.R. Moehringer in the November 20 feature. “The discomfort. The pain. The lingering injuries—the 10 surgeries I’ve had that I still feel every single surgery to this day.”
According to The Fantasy Doctors, Kelce has dealt with injuries to his abdomen, knees, chest, ankles, hips, neck, groin, shoulder, calf, back, and head (concussion) during his NFL career. Those injuries varied from minor to more serious, but the point to gain from the list is the beating Kelce’s body has taken during his Hall of Fame career. And that doesn’t include any injuries he sustained while playing football prior to entering the NFL.
Travis Kelce Thinking A lot About Retirement
Despite dismissing any thoughts about retirement to the public up until this point, Kelce revealed to Moehringer that retirement is something that is on his mind “more than anyone could imagine.”
Though that doesn’t mean Kelce is thinking about retiring after this season or the next, it does mean that the thought of retiring is in his mind more than he portrays, and more than it has been in the past. Rightfully so, as he’s reaching an age in which a decline in production is bound to come, and his body won’t naturally rebound from injury and/or bumps and bruises as quickly as it has in the past.
“Kelce’s trainer and physical therapist, Alex Skacel, says there’s not a single day, in season, when Kelce stretches out on the training table and doesn’t have some gruesome bruise,” Moehringer wrote. “What few realize, however, is the insane number of scratches. Guys claw each other out there, Skacel says; it can leave Kelce’s epidermis striated with crimson. To bounce back after such abuse requires more than basic therapy. Kelce and Skacel use a battery of esoteric treatments, from cupping to dry needling to occlusion therapy: essentially tying off a limb with a tourniquet while Kelce works out. Kelce also adheres to a pregame regimen of anti-inflammatories, which he doesn’t like to discuss because they ‘have a history of affecting people’s insides.'”
Chiefs Face Eagles in Week 11
The Chiefs (7-2), who are fresh off of a bye week, will round out Week 11 action in the NFL with a Super Bowl rematch at Arrowhead Stadium against the Philadelphia Eagles (8-1) on Monday Night Football.
Kickoff for that game will be at 7:15 p.m. Central Time on November 20. Per Weather.com, there’s a 72% chance of rain at kickoff, with the chance of rain dwindling as the game progresses.
Heavy’s projections powered by Quarter4 give the Eagles (-0.5) a 51% chance to win the game.
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Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Opens Up About His ‘Physical Anguish’