Kelce, Chiefs party in Raiders locker room after Super Bowl win
As Travis Kelce nears his eighth-consecutive 1,000-yard season, NFL insider Adam Schefter reports that the Chiefs have a plan for the future Hall of Fame tight end.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has 984 receiving yards this season, leaving him just 16 yards short of his eighth-consecutive 1,000-yard season. In Sunday’s Week 18 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs cannot change their playoff status; they’ll be the three-seed regardless of Sunday’s final scores, which will lead to backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert’s first start as a member of the Chiefs, with Patrick Mahomes doubtful to play and resting for the playoffs.
But what about Kelce? On Sunday morning, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that KC is expected to try to get Kelce over the 1,000-yard mark once again.
“Chiefs are expected to give Kelce a chance to get it today even though their playoff seed and spot is locked in,” Schefter posted on Twitter/X.
Kelce’s eighth-consecutive 1,000-yard season would break his own record for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for a tight end. Former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen has the second-longest thousand-yard streak with three consecutive seasons over 1,000 from 2014-2016. No other tight ends have more than two.
The last few days have pointed toward Kelce making an effort to play on Sunday, but Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was noncommital with the media on Friday when he was asked if there was a final decision on No. 87’s status.
“No,” Reid said. “Nothing finalized yet. We’ll see how it all goes, how it works out.”
However, when Friday’s injury report came out, Kelce’s name was noticeably absent.
On Friday, the Chiefs ruled out wide receiver Rashee Rice (hamstring), wide receiver Kadarius Toney (hip/ankle), left tackle Donovan Smith (neck) and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (calf). Mahomes (ankle) was listed as doubtful.
A slew of regular starters were listed as questionable, including running back Isiah Pacheco (quad/shoulder), linebacker Nick Bolton (wrist/abdomen), cornerback Trent McDuffie (shoulder), defensive end George Karlaftis (non-injury related – coaching) and defensive end Mike Danna (NIR – coaching).
Kelce was a limited participant in practice all week (neck) but received no gameday injury designation.
Schefter’s report and Kelce’s injury report status point to the same most likely scenario: Kelce will likely give it a go on Sunday, making a push for an eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season before returning to the sidelines to watch the rest of Week 18 from the bench.
