Chiefs' Andy Reid Says Travis Kelce Willing to ‘Sacrifice' Amid Down Year

There’s no skirting around the fact that Travis Kelce is having a down year statistically-speaking, but Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid praised his star tight end for making the most of things. 

Kelce, 35, has only two touchdowns through Kansas City’s first 15 games of the season. The 9-time Pro Bowler has never finished a season with less than 5. 

Additionally, Kelce has amassed 739 receiving yards — certainly not a number for the average tight end to sneeze at — but Kelce has never finished a season with fewer than 862, way back during his rookie campaign in 2014. 

The Chiefs have two regular season games remaining, both on the road: Wednesday, December 25 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Sunday, January 5 against the Denver Broncos.

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Given all the noise about Kelce’s lack of production, Reid, 66, acknowledged that Kelce hears the chatter — but has learned to let it roll off his back. 

“He does a good job with all that,” Reid told reporters on Monday, December 23. “Good team leader. That’s why he’s been voted a captain the last however many years.”

Reid continued, “He’d sacrifice for the cause, as they say. I’m not telling you he doesn’t like to play and catch and do all that stuff. He loves that. But at the same time, he’s willing to help out everywhere.”

Despite Kelce’s lackluster numbers, the Chiefs have still managed to earn a 14-1 record — the best in the NFL. 

The comments by Kelce’s head coach came after the Chiefs signed veteran tight end Robert Tonyan to their practice squad, a move that could impact Kelce’s production if Tonyan, 30, gets elevated to the main roster. 

On the December 4 episode of his “New Heights” podcast, Kelce admitted that he and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes were struggling to find their perennial chemistry, which has wreaked havoc in the NFL since 2018. 

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“Where I take a lot of pride is once we get in that red zone, man,” Kelce told older brother, Jason Kelce. “I get a little hungrier. Right now, for whatever reason this year, I just can’t find my way in the end zone. I’m just not on the same page as Pat. It can get frustrating. It can get f—ing frustrating. That’s for damn sure.”

Earlier in the season, Travis explained how he had stopped worrying so much about his own personal numbers in favor of the team’s greater good. 

“I stopped caring about stats about four or five years ago,” Travis said on “New Heights” September 18. “I just went out there and started to play free and play for my guys. Sure enough, I think that’s the better mentality. You think about it more play by play and what your job is on that specific play.”

Travis will get the chance to right the ship when the Chiefs travel to Pittsburgh for a Christmas Day showdown against the Steelers, streaming at 1 pm ET on Netflix.