Travis Kelce was reportedly absent from the Kansas City Chiefs’ OTA practice on Thursday as growing attention surrounding his reported upcoming wedding to Taylor Swift continued dominating NFL and celebrity headlines. With his wedding to global pop superstar Swift looming, Chiefs tight end Kelce was not spotted at practice. The Chiefs were in their third day of Organized Team Activities, or OTAs, which are considered voluntary.
But Kelce was reportedly at Tuesday’s Chiefs OTA session, according to a report by ESPN correspondent Nate Taylor.
That practice was not open to the media, however. Taylor reported only that he saw Kelce at the team’s practice facility. On Thursday, the Chiefs held what the team said was its first and only “open” OTA practice.
Kansas City Star reporter Pete Sweeney was in attendance at that practice.
“Just out of Chiefs voluntary OTA viewing session of Day 3,” Sweeney wrote on his social media account. “I didn’t see Chris Jones, Kristian Fulton or Travis Kelce. Jaden Hicks and Xavier Worthy were both wearing non-contact jerseys. Hicks, Worthy and Patrick Mahomes participated in 7-on-7 but not 11-on-11.”
Wedding to Swift Drawing Closer
Whether Kelce’s apparent absence from the practice has anything to do with the Swift wedding is impossible to know unless Kelce later issues a comment. But that seems unlikely as Swift is reportedly increasingly “rattled” about leaked details of the wedding — including the date, which has been reported as July 3.
“All the leaks that have happened so far have been incredibly disheartening,” Star Magazine wrote on Thursday, citing a confidential source. “They’ve had to change venues and dates. It’s been such a monstrous headache, but even worse, it has left Taylor feeling very vulnerable. There are a lot of questions about who to trust.”
If the July 3 date proves accurate, Kelce has little more than a month — 39 days, to be exact — to get ready for an event that seems certain to draw media scrutiny on a level with the Super Bowl, or even more than that. But the tension over press leaks only highlights the pressure that may be mounting on Kelce as he simultaneously attempts to prepare for the upcoming NFL season.
Mahomes Reports Practice Was Positive
In a Thursday report, The Athletic did not mention Kelce at all, another possible sign that the 36-year-old skipped the Thursday session.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was on hand, however, as he continues what appears to be an accelerated recovery from a knee injury suffered in a Dec. 14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last season, and the subsequent surgery.
Mahomes gave an upbeat report to the gathered reporters on the OTA practice session.
“It was good to be back on the field with the guys, more than anything,” Mahomes said, as quoted by Athletic reporter Jesse Newell. “Some of those days you’re rehabbing, you’re here by yourself or with a couple of the other guys. You kind of get that juice when everyone gets back in the building. It was good to be out there.”
Thursday’s session was the final Chiefs OTA of the week. The squad is scheduled to return on Monday, June 1, for three more days of practice. Whether Kelce will attend remains unclear.
Travis Kelce Absent From Chiefs Practice as Taylor Swift Wedding Nears