Chiefs’ Kelce has had two practice skirmishes in two days. He sent this tweet after
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce expects more of himself.
That was the message in a tweet sent out Saturday afternoon, following a second straight Chiefs practice when Kelce was involved in a scuffle with a defensive teammate.
“Gotta be a better teammate gotta be a better leader … plain and simple,” Kelce tweeted at 12:29 p.m.
During Saturday’s practice, Kelce became upset after a touchdown catch when linebacker Jack Cochrane came in to attempt to punch the ball away. Kelce responded by swinging at Cochrane, which led to the two needing to be separated.
The previous day, Kelce locked up with cornerback Dicaprio Bootle in a similar after-the-play situation. Kelce caught a pass and ran upfield when the whistle blew; Bootle still got in his way and impeded his path, leading to both players shoving each other before safety Bryan Cook stepped in to break things up.
Coach Andy Reid didn’t seem amused by Friday’s extracurriculars when asked about the tussle between Kelce and Bootle.
“Fighting’s a waste of time. You get thrown out of games doing it. You get hurt out here doing it,” Reid said on Friday. “But they’re gonna jaw. It’s hot, humid. They’re gonna jaw a little bit. Just as long as there’s no punches thrown, we’re all right. They’re gonna talk a little bit. That happens.”
Kelce, 33, is in his 11th season with the Chiefs. The future Hall of Famer, who is an eight-time Pro Bowler, had 110 catches, 1,338 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
Bootle also seemed to face some day-after consequences following his mix-up with Kelce. When receiver Richie James caught a pass over him in 7-on-7 drills Saturday, James taunted him with the ball, motioning for him to come get it before walking into the end zone.
The two spoke back and forth about the incident for about a minute, before James wrapped his arm around Bootle on the sideline while continuing to talk to him.
This story was originally published July 29, 2023 at 2:17 PM.
