How comparing himself to plumber, electrician reflects growth of Chiefs’ Travis Kelce
More than two weeks later now, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce starts off by saying that he’s moved past the self-described game-sabotaging transgression he cryptically posted about on Twitter after the Chiefs suffered a 40-32 loss to the Raiders on Oct. 11.
But even as he suggested that burden was behind him on Wednesday, during his first media availability since then, something about it lingered. And with that, Kelce’s abiding sense of self-awareness as part of something bigger than himself resonated.
“I still get frustrated watching that film,” said Kelce, adding that he had been guilty of “running routes that weren’t called, and I screwed the team doing it. Stuff that you won’t see on the film, you won’t see on the stats.”
Stuff we wouldn’t have known about otherwise, in other words.
And stuff, he added, that figured into Patrick Mahomes throwing his only interception of the season at a pivotal point in their only loss entering their game Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium against the winless New York Jets.
The words particularly reverberated coming from a player who suddenly is 31 years old and among the team’s elders only a few years after being better known for his brashness and volatility.
Sure, it’s been a while since Kelce matured through a persona that once seemed inherently entwined with a certain recklessness.
Now, it’s almost hard to remember the shenanigans once so routine, from throwing his towel towards a referee to mock a perceived non-call against Jacksonville … to saying referee Carl Cheffers “shouldn’t even be able to wear a zebra jersey ever again” after a controversial fourth-quarter holding call negated a two-point conversion that would have tied the score in an 18-16 playoff loss to the Steelers … to once even criticizing Andy Reid’s play-calling after a loss to Tennessee.
We bring these up not to harp on the Kelce of yesteryear but to remind of how far he’s come and continues to grow.
So far, really, that words that might once have rung hollow to skeptics now ring sincere and are backed by his deeds on the field.
That refinement was vital toward Kelce becoming one of the most dynamic — and dependable — players in the game and reflects the culture cultivated by Reid toward the franchise’s first Super Bowl triumph in 50 years.
And there was fresh affirmation of what he has become in his perspective on that Raiders game. Not to mention in his thoughts on his evolving, not-always-more-glamorous role as “the utility guy on the field: Whether you need a plumber or an electrician, man, I’m here for you.”
Now, it might be surmised that Kelce does plenty in tandem with Mahomes as one of the top passing combinations in the game, a pairing that seems destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame if each continues to amass the same sorts of stats.
Of Kelce’s 547 career receptions, including 40 in seven games this season, 240 have come in two-plus seasons playing with Mahomes — who understands that Kelce’s awareness and agility at his size (6-foot-5, 260 pounds) makes him a unique force.
It’s also a special connection built on what comes off as a certain ESP between them perhaps further developed in an off-field relationship that has included trips to an NCAA Tournament Final Four, a NHL Stanley Cup Final game, golfing at the American Century Championship celebrity tournament and featured Mahomes finding Kelce from atop a bus and pouring beer into his mouth during the Super Bowl parade.
Last week, Denver coach Vic Fangio said “they definitely have karma between them.”
At the time, I thought he meant to say chemistry instead of karma. But … who knows? Either way, you get the idea.
“They can ad-lib the routes, and both of them are on the same page when they’re doing that,” Fangio said.
The Broncos were concerned enough about Kelce that they limited him to three catches for 31 yards. But that’s where the rest of the equation comes into play with Kelce being shuffled all over the field, including blocking inside in certain schemes in place of fullback Anthony Sherman, who has missed the last two games after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
“You can kind of just move me around and put me anywhere,” he said, later adding that he’s excited to do “whatever the coaches and the guys on this team need me to do.”
And a major part of that is subordinating himself to the greater cause. While Kelce no doubt still wants the ball plenty, he gets that less for him can be more for all in the long haul. He understands what’s behind what Mahomes says about numbers sometimes being reduced for Kelce and Tyreek Hill as defenses fixate on them.
“Whenever you don’t see these huge receiving yards some games, you don’t understand how much (Kelce and Hill are) impacting the game by being the players that they are,” Mahomes said.
He understands that even if it means fewer balls for him on occasion, the running game bolstered by the addition of Le’Veon Bell enhances the Chiefs chances of repeating as champions.
So when he was asked about offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy calling the combo of Bell and Clyde Edwards-Helaire “thunder and lightning,” Kelce chimed in that “it’s just the ultimate weather storm out there.”
“As a blocker, that gets you excited, man,” he said. “You’ve got somebody who can take it to the house at any point in the game, and you want to make sure that you get your guy that much more.”
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have gotten this guy right where they want him, increasingly at the top of his game as a performer, leader and teammate. And still saying … I HAVE TO BE BETTER.