Travis Kelce went back to being the Kansas City Chiefs’ number one offensive weapon last weekend against the Houston Texans — just in time for another trip to the AFC Championship game.
Kelce spoke to reporters on January 24, ahead of the upcoming matchup with the Buffalo Bills, and he was asked if critics calling him “washed” or too old motivates him at all. The future Hall of Famer’s answer was blunt, but hilarious.
“No,” Kelce replied, adding: “I laugh at it.”
Travis Kelce, when asked whether he pays attention to those who say he might be slowing down.
Kelce’s devilish grin during his response drew a laugh from the media. Then, after a moment, he noted that “as long as I’m going out there and we’re winning, that’s all that matters.”
That brief Q&A is what makes Kelce so special as a player. He might go down in the history books as the greatest NFL tight end of all-time, and yet, all he ever cares about is team success and winning the Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce’s Unselfishness Has Inspired Chiefs Teammates
Kelce’s unselfishness has been a theme of the past couple seasons. So much so, that The Athletic’s Nate Taylor wrote an entire feature about it, which he published on January 24.
“When summarizing Kelce’s season, several members of the Chiefs — [offensive coordinator Matt] Nagy, [pass game coordinator Joe] Bleymaier and [quarterback Patrick] Mahomes — unpromptedly connected his sacrifices this season to what he did a little more than a year ago,” Taylor relayed.
“Before the 2023 regular-season finale, many of Kelce’s teammates wanted him to play a few snaps to gain the 16 yards he needed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the eighth consecutive season, which would’ve extended the league’s longest such streak for a tight end,” he explained. “Because the Chiefs’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers was meaningless, Kelce, for the first time in his career, told [head coach Andy] Reid he didn’t want to be in uniform.”
According to Mahomes, “It meant a lot to the team that he put the team above himself” in that moment.
“Guys took that and ran with it,” the Chiefs QB went on. “It inspired the team. He has the heart of a champion. When your leaders are doing that, I think everybody knows they’ve got to put it all on the line.”
As Kelce has transformed into a veteran throughout his career, more and more, he’s preached the importance of winning. Now, at age 35, it’s seemingly all that matters.
“The beautiful part about Travis is he does not care [about statistics],” Nagy told Taylor. “He wants to continue to just keep winning. He cares about these trophies. He’s extremely unselfish.”
Needless to say, Kelce’s mindset has rubbed off on the rest of this franchise over the years. It’s created a strong culture in Kansas City, and when Kelce does eventually decide to call it quits, his impact will be sorely missed.
Bills Will Do Their Best to Take Travis Kelce out of the Game vs. Chiefs
Buffalo could be a tough matchup for Kelce. The first time these two teams met this season, the Bills defense totally eliminated the superstar TE from the game, holding him to 2 catches for 8 yards.
He was only targeted 4 times in that outing.
Although other players picked up the slack, the Chiefs lost that initial face-off by a score of 30-21. This time around, KC will hope to get more from Kelce — even if the Bills do everything possible to take him out of the game.
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Travis Kelce Has 5 Words for Anyone Calling Him ‘Washed’ Ahead of Chiefs-Bills