On Monday, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs normal supervisor Brett Veach held his annual post-draft press convention with the native Kansas Metropolis media through Zoom.
Earlier than taking questions, Veach congratulated tight finish Travis Kelce on the contract adjustment that makes him the highest-paid tight finish in soccer over the subsequent two seasons.
“He simply signed it right here a couple of minutes in the past,” mentioned Veach. “Arduous to place into phrases what Travis means to this group, this metropolis — and [it] was definitely a precedence to regulate his contact for us, and it was one thing that was necessary for Clark [Hunt]. [It’s] very becoming that Travis is now the highest-paid tight finish in these two years… only a actually special occasion and second for this group to as soon as once more acknowledge arguably one of many best tight ends to ever do it.”
Kelce is coming off an age-34 season by which he registered 93 catches for 984 yards and 5 touchdowns, including 32 catches for 355 yards and three touchdowns within the postseason. Final yr, he ended a streak of seven straight seasons of 1,000 yards or extra.
“From time to time, you may have certainly one of these guys who’re outliers,” defined Veach of Kelce. “It’s humorous. It’s not even Might but, and at present, we had the possibility to get on the market in Section 2. Guys had been on the market working round, and Travis was the primary man in line. He regarded like he was 28 years outdated. The chances of somebody [playing] this far into their 30s are very low — however it does occur, and it occurs with unicorns within the career. Travis is a type of.
“We’ll definitely have a good time this with him — and hopefully, we will experience this factor even longer. We’ll simply have to attend and see, however he’s proven no indicators of slowing down. Everybody notices the type of postseason he had. He simply discovered an additional gear. These particular gamers are at all times capable of finding that additional gear — and if anyone might do it, Travis can.”
It feels like Kansas Metropolis at all times had plans to lift Kelce’s wage earlier than turning its consideration to gamers like Nick Bolton, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, who will all want new offers.
“We do have some youthful guys developing [with contracts],” mentioned Veach. “Like at all times, as soon as the draft settles down, we’ll have the possibility to deal with all these gamers and work by way of that. Travis is an outlier right here. I believe everyone knows that while you speak about Travis and his profession and his legacy right here. That is one thing we needed to knock proper out of the park early on and shift our focus to the younger guys developing.”
