Will Travis Kelce’s workload change with Chiefs next season? What Andy Reid says
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid says there’s something he appreciated about tight end Travis Kelce during his age-35 season last year: He was less afraid to ask for a breather.
“He’s willing — he’s learning when to come out,” Reid said Monday at the NFL Annual Meeting at The Breakers Palm Beach. “So he’ll get himself out of the game when he needs it, and I think that’ll just continue with age. I didn’t think that was an issue this year.”
It’s still a significant step, given Kelce’s history of competitiveness.
Just a year before, remember, Kelce was so upset that he was taken out for a play in Super Bowl LVIII that he bumped and screamed at Reid on the sideline in a video clip that went viral.
Easing off Kelce certainly seems like it could stand to benefit both player and team in 2025.
Kelce, who will turn 36 in October, had 97 catches for 823 yards last season, but naturally was a step behind previous production.
He also didn’t get much of a break. Kelce played 81.9% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps according to OvertheCap, which was his highest ratio in a season since 2019.
Reid said there was a reason Kelce was out there so much.
“We were banged up at the outside (receiver) positions, and that doesn’t help the tight ends’ cause at all,” Reid said. “So I just think the healthier we can be around him, he can still be productive.”
Will there be other changes for Kelce during the 2025 campaign? And perhaps in practice, too?
Reid said it was too early to know, but he’d be open to potentially easing off his veteran a bit.
It wouldn’t be an easy transition. Kelce has historically taken every practice rep, even after the Chiefs have told him that isn’t something he has to do.
That work ethic has constantly drawn praise from teammates and coaches, though, who believe Kelce’s actions help set the standard for the rest of the team.
“We’ll see how it all goes going forward,” Reid said of Kelce’s practice reps. “Try to play off of what I think he’s got. With all the guys, I do that. So we’ll just see where he’s at.”
Reid said he’s known for a while that Kelce wanted to continue to play this season. He said he could sense that enthusiasm even when the two met for an exit interview just after February’s Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“He wants to come back, and he’s training like crazy, too,” Reid said. “So it’s good.”
Someone else pleased that Kelce is making a return? Chiefs owner Clark Hunt.
On Monday, Hunt said that deep down he believed right after the season Kelce would want to keep playing.
“He loves the game. He loves his teammates,” Hunt said. “I know Coach Reid’s excited to have his energy back in the building for at least one more year.”
And perhaps 2025 won’t be it, either. Though few tight ends are productive into their late-30s, Hunt said he wouldn’t be surprised if Kelce wanted to lengthen his playing career.
“I think it’s true of any long-tenured veteran that you don’t really know when they’ve reached the end,” Hunt said. “He’s not going to tell us which year is going to be his last year. And so I think we have the possibility that he extends his career beyond this.”
This much is certain: Hunt will enjoy seeing Kelce playing alongside quarterback Patrick Mahomes again next season.
“He’s already a Hall of Famer at this point,” Hunt said of Kelce. “He has a special chemistry with Patrick, and I think, like every year, it’s going to be fun to see the two of them work their magic.”
