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Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterSep 25, 2024, 04:24 PM ET
- Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
- Joined ESPN in 2013
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andy Reid has heard the outside talk that Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, with his 35th birthday next week, is too advanced in age to be a top receiver anymore. He has heard the chatter that Kelce’s relationship with Taylor Swift has taken the tight end’s focus away from football.
He’s just not buying any of it.
“I know people are saying that he is old or whatever, has distractions and all this [but] the defenses don’t think that,” the Chiefs coach said, indicating opposing defenses are smothering Kelce with their coverages. “We have another receiver [Rashee Rice] that plays opposite him that has a lot of yards and catches and that’s how this thing goes.
“He works his tail off and he hasn’t lost his step and all those things and he’s not distracted. That’s not the case. People are making sure they have him taken care of by some of these defenses.”
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Kelce’s numbers are way down this season. He has eight catches for 69 yards and no touchdowns through three games.
But Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes issued their strongest comments yet in defense of Kelce’s play. Mahomes, like Reid, said Rice is benefitting from defensive attention to Kelce. Rice leads the NFL with 24 catches and is second in yards with 288.
“Teams have to adjust [coverage on Rice],” Mahomes said. “If they don’t, Rashee is going to have 2,000 yards.”
Mahomes pointed to a play from last week’s win over the Atlanta Falcons for Kelce’s impact. Kelce was bumped coming off the line by one defender and then surrounded by three others as he got into his pass route.
That left another tight end, Noah Gray, in the middle of the field without a defender within 10 yards. Mahomes completed the pass to Gray.
“It helps out other guys,” Mahomes said. “If we show that Noah’s going to catch that [for] 13 or 15 yards, whatever it is, or if he takes a guy and Rashee catches the ball and breaks the tackle and gets 15, 20 yards. … It’s part of the game. I obviously want to give him the ball and let him impact the game that way, but the more defenses respect him, other guys get open and other guys make plays.”
