Multiple reports from this past winter suggested that the Kansas City Chiefs could reduce the number of snaps star tight end Travis Kelce plays during the upcoming season after Kelce had a bigger role in Kansas City’s offense last fall than what had originally been planned.
While speaking with reporters on the final day of the Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp, head coach Andy Reid indicated Kelce will still be a top-tier target for quarterback Patrick Mahomes later this year.
“I’m not feeling that,” Reid said on Thursday about possibly putting Kelce on a so-called “pitch count,” as shared by Adam Teicher of ESPN. “It would be similar to last year, I would imagine, as it goes. So, he’s in great shape right now, so I think he’s looking forward to getting going.”
Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice played in just four games last season before he went down with a knee injury, while fellow wideout Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown suffered a sternoclavicular injury during the preseason that kept him sidelined until Week 16. Such setbacks resulted in Kelce once again being his offense’s leading man.
Kelce’s 823 receiving yards and three touchdown catches during the 2024 regular season were career lows outside of when he appeared in just one game as a rookie in 2013. He suggested shortly after Kansas City’s Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that he could retire due to the “wear and tear” on his body, but he more recently dropped some weight in an attempt to get ready for the 2025 campaign.
“I always watch him,” Reid added about Kelce. “I always keep an eye on him. I know he’s getting older. He doesn’t know he is getting older, but I do, so I can be the bad guy in some cases there, and if I think it’s catching up to him a little bit, I’ll pull off and put him where he needs to be. Other than that, he hasn’t shown me any of that yet. He’s done real well.”
Kelce turns 36 years old in October and is in the final year of his contract. That said, he teased on Wednesday that he could continue playing beyond this coming season.
Reid reducing Kelce’s workload could ensure the future Hall of Famer stays healthy enough to remain an active player through next year, but it seems the Chiefs aren’t thinking that far ahead as of the start of their summer break.
