Will Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes play Week 18? Here’s what Andy Reid said
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid made it clear that one of his offensive superstars would not play in the team’s Week 18 game at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The other one, though? The matter remains undecided (or at least undisclosed).
Here’s what we know: Barring multiple injuries, quarterback Patrick Mahomes will not take the field in the Chiefs’ regular-season finale against the Chargers.
“Pat won’t play,” Reid said Wednesday.
That means backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert will get the start, while practice squad QB Chris Oladokun will be elevated for Sunday’s game.
Reid did go through a worst-case scenario Wednesday, which would include Gabbert getting injured. If that happened, Oladokun would enter the game, with Mahomes having to head to the locker room to put on his jersey, just in case Oladokun needed to come out.
Given the limited stakes of the game — the Chiefs are locked into the AFC’s No. 3 seed regardless of Sunday’s outcome — Mahomes going in as a third-string QB would likely only require him to hand the ball off with the team looking to avoid all risk of injury.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, however, could play, as getting into Sunday’s game could have significance.
Kelce is 16 receiving yards away from 1,000 for the year. He’s hit that mark seven seasons in a row — a record for an NFL tight end — and potentially could secure that landmark with a few early passes before exiting.
When asked if he’d consider playing guys on the verge of important statistical numbers, Reid said, “It depends. It depends on what the milestone is.”
And what if the record was someone trying to reach his eighth straight 1,000-yard receiving season?
“We’ll see,” Reid said. “We’ll see how that goes.”
Reid said any talks about playing or resting were likely to be “one-sided.” In the past, the coach has talked often about getting 51% of the vote on certain team decisions, meaning Kelce’s status Sunday is likely to come down to what Reid thinks is best.
Gabbert, meanwhile, spoke about the possibility of trying to get Kelce his 1,000 yards if he does play.
“He genuinely loves football, and if he wants to play, he’ll play. And if it’s Coach Reid’s decision to have him rest, he’s gonna rest,” Gabbert said. “Ultimately, that’s on Coach Reid. But if we’re out there, we’re going to do our damn best to get him 17 yards.”
Gabbert said “it’d be a lot of fun” to try to get Kelce his historic receiving total Sunday if the tight end does play. Only five other NFL players have stacked eight consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in a row; all of them, unlike Kelce, are wide receivers.
“That’s a rare, special group of individuals — hall-of-fame individuals — to have that run in a row,” Gabbert said. “He may say it doesn’t mean anything, but it means something for the quarterback and for the organization to get him that 1,000 yards.”
Reid said those players resting — like Mahomes — wouldn’t get the entire week off. They’d continue to practice with the team while also helping teammates prepare for Sunday’s game.
Four starters didn’t practice Wednesday, which seemingly makes it unlikely they’ll go this week. That included defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin), running back Isiah Pacheco (quad), receiver Rashee Rice (hamstring) and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (calf).
Jones is an interesting case like Kelce, as he has a contract incentive that would pay him $1.25 million if he reaches 10 sacks this season. He has 9 1/2 right now.
After Sunday’s win, however, Jones seemed amenable to sitting out, saying he felt a “few nicks and bruises” and could “use the week off.”
The Chiefs don’t know their Wild Card opponent yet for a game that will be played next week in Kansas City. This much is settled, though: If Miami loses to Buffalo on Sunday Night Football this week, the Dolphins will earn the No. 6 seed and travel to face the Chiefs in the playoffs’ opening round.
This story was originally published January 3, 2024 at 2:45 PM.
