Travis Kelce is no stranger to stirring up discussion, but it’s his on-field performance that’s really had tongues wagging lately.
Kelce, 34, is off to a historically slow start to the 2024 season with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end recording only eight catches for 69 yards and zero touchdowns through the team’s first three games.
For comparison’s sake, during the first three games of Kelce’s most productive season in 2022, he amassed 184 receiving yards on 17 receptions on his way to career highs in receptions (110), receiving yards (1,338) and touchdowns (12).
With the high expectations that Kelce has set for himself during his decade in the NFL, some fans have started to wonder what could be causing the athlete’s uncharacteristic performance.
From sports journalists and daytime TV hosts to Kelce’s own coaches and teammates, those well versed with the world of football have begun positing their own theories.
Kelce himself addressed the slump on the September 18 episode of his “New Heights” podcast, telling brother Jason Kelce, “I stopped caring about stats four or five years ago.”
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of everything Kelce’s teammates — and critics — have said about the tight end’s 2024 performance so far:
Todd McShay
In discussing Kelce’s underwhelming start, former ESPN analyst Todd McShay did not mince words.
“Are we not allowed to say that he’s out of shape?” the veteran reporter asked on “The Ryen Russillo Podcast’s” September 23 episode. “That he’s been partying all offseason? He’s been jet-setting around with the most famous person, probably in the entire world. He’s drinking, going to the U.S. Open.”
McShay, 47, was making a reference to Kelce’s relationship with girlfriend Taylor Swift.
“I want you to take a picture from preseason 2022 and then take a picture preseason 2024. They’re barely the same human being, Ryan,” McShay continued. “And everyone’s like, ‘We gotta get him the ball. Why isn’t he part of the offense? The defense is double-covering.’ Here’s the thing, bottom line with Kelce, the coverage and the respect he gets is the same. The athlete is not.”
While McShay expressed optimism that Kelce would eventually work his way back into shape, he asserted, “he’s not the same guy right now.”
Mike Francesca
Longtime sports radio host Mike Francesa also suggested that Kelce’s off-the-field exploits are hampering his production to kick off the season.
“As an organization and as a coach, you would have to question how dedicated Kelce is to the sport right now,” he said on “The Mike Francesa Podcast” Monday. “He has a lot going on in his life. His life has taken a radical change. You see him in commercials, you see him in photo ops, you see him now very conscious of how he’s dressed.”
Francesa argued Kelce’s ascension to the A-list has “changed his life.”
“And you wonder,” Francesa continued, “where does football and where does football preparation enter into that?”
Francesa also brought Kelce’s relationship with Swift into the equation, citing their high-profile romance as a catalyst for Kelce’s production “dropping off dramatically.”
“His life has changed,” Francesa said. “He’s now prancing around the globe with one of the most famous people in the world. His life is a photo op.”
Stephen A. Smith
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith argued that Swift has become a bigger star on Chiefs game days, which he believes isn’t a good sign.
“We saw more Taylor Swift than we saw Travis Kelce,” Smith, 56, said on the September 16 episode of ESPN’s First Take, the day after Kelce only had one catch against the Cincinnati Bengals. “On a Sunday afternoon. Any other time, that’s applicable. That ain’t supposed to happen yesterday. You’re supposed to see more Travis Kelce yesterday than we saw of her. That’s not happening.”
Smith continued, “Come on now. Football season is here. Honeymoon’s over. Let’s handle our business, OK?”
Whoopi Goldberg
On the flip side of the coin, Whoopi Goldberg chastised opinions like those expressed by McShay, Francesa and Smith, criticizing any parallel being drawn between Kelce’s girlfriend and his stat line.
“They apparently forgot that [the Chiefs] won the Super Bowl last year with him and they were just as tight then as they are now,” Goldberg, 68, said of Kelce and Swift on The View’s September 24 episode. “What is going on?”
Goldberg concluded the Hot Topics segment by looking straight into the camera and saying, “Grow up, y’all. Grow up. Stop putting this on her. Your team is fine. Your team is doing well. Shut up!”
Patrick Mahomes
Following the Chiefs 22-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on September 22, in which Kelce had four receptions for 30 yards, his star quarterback helped explain the statistical conundrum.
“The respect factor they have for Travis is just unreal,” Patrick Mahomes said during his postgame press conference. “It’s well-deserved. But I mean, we’re calling a lot of plays for Travis and it’s like two or three people are going to him.”
Mahomes continued, “He understands. I think that’s the great thing about him. He wants to make an impact on the game, but he wants to win at the end of the day. I’m going to try to keep doing my best to keep feeding him the ball whenever he’s there, whenever he’s open.”
Through the first three games of the season, Mahomes has targeted Kelce only 12 times.
Matt Nagy
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy was as level-headed as his quarterback when it came to Kelce’s start.
“He knows who he is,” Nagy, 46, said in a press conference on September 19. “We know who he is. When you have that, it’s important to know that.”
Nagy boasted, “It’s just a matter of time.”
Donna Kelce
Kelce’s mother was asked about her son’s performance while she hit the town to support his role in the new FX series Grotesquerie.
Donna Kelce admitted it had been “tough” to see all of the negative comments in the first month of the season.
“I don’t think they realize the pressure that people are under, whether they’re athletes or professionals that are in front of the camera,” Donna, 71, told People at the show’s premiere on September 24. “It’s just very difficult, there’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes.”
Donna added, “You don’t realize how many times people are trying to keep you from catching the ball, or trying to trip you up or hit you…so it’s kinda hard when you’ve got people that are in your face 24/7.”
Travis Kelce
Perhaps most importantly, Kelce himself has managed to let all of the outrage and concern about his receiving yards and touchdowns roll off his back — because he learned to focus on other things a while back.
“I stopped caring about stats about four or five years ago,” he told brother Jason on their “New Heights” podcast September 18. “I just went out there and started to play free and play for my guys. Sure enough, I think that’s the better mentality. You think about it more play by play and what your job is on that specific play.”
Still, Kelce isn’t immune to being able to find fault in his own game. He’s just learned to be more rational about it.
“I’m not about to sit here and get frustrated about it,” he continued. “I used to get really, really pissed off and almost lose my cool a lot of the time from not having that success knowing I demand that out of myself. I just like to play the game to such a high level of accountability that it’s tough for me to deal with me being mediocre or having stats that represent that.”
Kelce and the Chiefs return to action on Sunday, September 29 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
