'The great ones know how to find it': Why K.C. still expects the best from Travis Kelce

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Travis Kelce ended the 2024 NFL play with vocation lows successful yards and touchdowns -- 823 and three, respectively. He looked similar helium mightiness beryllium nearing the extremity of 1 of the top choky extremity careers successful NFL history. At 35 years old, an precocious property for his position, helium often looked mean connected the tract -- different than a vintage Kelce agelong of games during the mediate of the season.

Then helium caught 7 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown successful the Kansas City Chiefs' divisional playoff triumph implicit the Houston Texans, single-handedly dragging an different lethargic passing crippled into the AFC Championship Game.

"We've each seen it implicit the past fewer years," wide manager Brett Veach said. "There are periods passim the play wherever you're like, 'This mightiness beryllium it.' But erstwhile the games are the astir important and the lights are the brightest, helium finds it somewhere."

With Kelce turning 36 successful October, the Chiefs expect that successful 2025 helium volition inactive beryllium the subordinate they cognize well.

"The large ones cognize however to find it," Veach said. "They cognize wherever it's buried, and they cognize however to entree it. And they can't entree it astatine that property week successful and week out, but erstwhile they request it, they cognize however to find it."

Still, the Chiefs are trying to steer themselves distant from needing Kelce the mode they person successful caller seasons by readying to displacement immoderate of the receiving load to others.

At wide receiver, they should spot the instrumentality of Rashee Rice, who was starring the league successful receptions done 3 games past twelvemonth earlier a Week 4 genu wounded ended his season. They besides re-signed Hollywood Brown and are expecting a leap successful accumulation from Xavier Worthy, who caught 59 passes arsenic a rookie past season. At choky end, the Chiefs besides person Noah Gray, who past play acceptable vocation highs successful catches (40), yards (437) and touchdowns (five).

That doesn't mean the expectations are minimal for Kelce, who volition beryllium playing nether the last twelvemonth of a two-year, $34.25 cardinal declaration hold helium signed past year.

"I expect Travis to beryllium Travis," backmost Patrick Mahomes said. "Obviously, the play connected the field's going to beryllium high. He's going to spell retired determination with the mentality that we're trying to triumph the Super Bowl this twelvemonth with america falling abbreviated this past year. Then, I deliberation much than anything, it's the enactment that helium brings to the gathering each azygous day. How helium leads by illustration and however helium leads vocally, it's a large interaction connected our shot team, truthful I expect him to play astatine a precocious level and past beryllium an adjacent amended leader.

"From what I've seen ... he's acceptable to go. He's been putting successful the enactment this offseason, and he's excited for different accidental to marque a tally astatine it."

Kelce has ever played a precocious percent of the snaps for the Chiefs, and past twelvemonth was nary different. In fact, helium played much snaps (950) and was successful the lineup for a higher percent of the Chiefs' violative plays (81.8%) than successful immoderate play since 2019.

Chiefs manager Andy Reid indicated he's improbable to alteration plans for Kelce, saying he's "not truly feeling" the request to chopped backmost connected Kelce's playing time.

"It'll beryllium akin to past year,'' Reid said. "... He's successful large signifier close now, truthful I deliberation he's looking guardant to getting going.

"I ever ticker him. I ever support an oculus connected him. I cognize he's getting older. He doesn't cognize he's getting older, but I do. I tin beryllium the atrocious feline successful immoderate cases there, if needed. If I deliberation it's catching up to him a small bit, I'll propulsion disconnected and enactment him wherever helium needs to be. Other than that, helium hasn't showed maine immoderate of that yet. He's done truly good with it."

Kelce took immoderate clip aft the Chiefs' Super Bowl LIX nonaccomplishment to the Philadelphia Eagles to determine whether helium wanted to play different season, his 12th successful the NFL. But helium made his determination successful comparatively abbreviated bid and said it wasn't a hard prime and that helium had much bully shot successful him.

He indicated helium wanted to enactment himself done what helium called a much rigorous offseason workout docket than past year.

"That determination for maine needs to beryllium made backmost successful March oregon aboriginal April," Kelce said. "You acceptable the code and enactment a regimen unneurotic that gets your mindset and gets your assemblage [right] and truly from determination you tin commencement to tweak your accomplishment set. So it's conscionable everything involved. You person to germinate each azygous twelvemonth successful each phases of the game. So you already cognize that started backmost successful March and truthful acold we're connected track."

Even if his different numbers weren't up to Kelce's modular past year, helium inactive caught 97 passes, tied for the fourth-highest full of his career. He inactive ranked 5th successful yardage among choky ends, down Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, George Kittle and Jonnu Smith. But that happened during a play erstwhile Rice and Brown played successful lone a tiny fraction of the games.

If they enactment healthy, on with Worthy and Gray, Kelce's streak of starring the Chiefs successful catches and yards volition apt travel to an extremity astatine three. That wouldn't needfully mean the Chiefs look astatine his play arsenic a disappointment.

"His numbers won't beryllium the same," Veach said. "You person to admit ... that he's older. He's not 28 years old. But everything runs much efficiently erstwhile that feline is retired there. He's inactive going to request the attraction oregon astatine slightest the occasional eyes of superior defenders conscionable due to the fact that of his sanction and his legacy.

"Having Travis connected the tract makes america better. I don't cognize if I look astatine it successful presumption of expectations for yardage oregon touchdowns oregon catches. When he's connected the field, helium makes america better. He's besides a feline who makes the radical astir him better."