There is no denying that, statistically speaking, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is off to a slow start this season. Naturally, this has led to a narrative being created that Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift, and his lavish, fast-paced lifestyle off the field are the root causes of him coming out of the gates relatively slowly.
While it’s more than fair to say that Kelce’s life has changed dramatically since he began dating the most-famous person on the planet, it’s also fair to say that his slow start to the season has way more to do with football and schemes than who his significant other is.
One person who spends plenty of time around Kelce and certainly knows something about the game of football is Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid, and he wants to assure everyone that his tight end is not distracted.
“I know people are saying that he’s old or that he has distractions, but defenses don’t think that,” Reid told reporters, according to Charles Goodman of A to Z Sports. “Trav is fine. He just keeps being Trav. He works his tail off. He hasn’t lost a step. He’s not distracted. (Some of these defenses) are making sure he’s taken care of.”
Travis Kelce is off to a slow start, but it isn’t because of distractions, according to head coach Andy Reid. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
While Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t dive into the ‘distraction talk’ surrounding Kelce, he chalked up the slow start to teams making it a point to completely shut down one of his favorite targets.
“It’s crazy because the respect factor teams have for Travis is unreal, and it’s well deserved. We’re calling a lot of plays for Travis and it’s like two or three (defenders) are going to him. That’s the great thing about him is he wants to make an impact on the game but he wants to win at the end of the day,” Mahomes explained.
Both the Chiefs and Kelce are easy targets for anyone to criticize. The Chiefs have won two straight Super Bowls and Kelce is dating Taylor Swift; they’re an easy group to pick at.
Kansas City is still off to a perfect 3-0 start to the season and has gotten there with Kelce hauling in just eight passes and not even surpassing the 70-yard receiving mark.
