Isiah Pacheco Shares Emotional Message From Family With Chiefs Future in Danger After Travis Kelce Extension.

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Chiefs’ running back Isiah Pacheco loves fun. Remember the hours leading to the Super Bowl matchup against the Eagles? The surrounding media asked him if he felt any pressure to win the Super Bowl.

He cheekily replied, “There’s really no pressure when you’re prepared.

Proper preparations prevents poor performance!” As entertaining as he might sound, the 26-year-old has tragic personal incidents buried in his mind.

In 2016, his brother, Travoise Cannon, was murdered. Cannon had a significant role in propelling Isiah to football.

After the incident, he grew increasingly close to his sister Celeste, but just a year into it, fate had taken her away too.

Isiah turned to football to find reasons to keep their memories alive. “”(My sister) was like a best friend,’’ Pacheco had said in 2023 when he was still with Rutgers. “

My brother, if he was to see me here, he’d be shocked.

He encouraged me to play football as a kid and he never got the opportunity to see me play here.

Having an opportunity to play ball, it helps me a lot not worrying about the tragedies that happened.”

So, for Isiah, when he does something significant on the gridiron, he searches for his family, not spiking the football or slipping into a celebratory dance.

In 2023, after an 80-yard touchdown against Michigan, Isiah ran to a corner of the end zone, found his mother from the Rutgers home crowd, and blew two kisses to her. “

She’s been through so much.

I told her that touchdown was for her,’’ Isiah had told later.

Someone who has endured so much personal loss, a message from loved ones on a special occasion indeed makes the day, just like March 2.

On Sunday, Isiah Pacheco turned 26.

Taking to his Instagram, he shared a number of birthday wishes that his friends and family sent him.

The accompanying pictures captured several happy moments of Isiah where he could be found skating, biking, ice sliding, and more.

Amongst them was a photo from his elder sibling captioned, “Happy birthday to you brother love you kiddo”.

Not just family and friends, even the Chiefs‘ official IG also wished him on his birthday, with a tagline, “10 photos for 10’s birthday. HBD.” Some well-wishers fondly called him by his nickname.

“Happppyyy Birthdayyy cously yy atil poppyaso. Love youuu”, “Happppyyy Birthdayyy cously yy atil poppyaso. Love!” they wrote.

His friends group, who are all like brothers to him, also put up a picture where they were all partying, “@lil poppy856 happy bday family.

Yktv been rocking on the field, since we was 5 Man. LTN 5LA” Interestingly, there is a fun story behind his nickname.

Isiah’s nickname “Pop” comes from when he was a kid, and it ironically can be traced back to exactly that sound.

He himself once told it, “The way I remember it was when I was playing midget (Pop Warner) league and I was on defense.

I popped the quarterback, put him down, and then the ambulance came.

Fortunately, he was OK.

But everybody told me they heard an echo from the ‘pop’ and (the nickname) just stuck from high school all the way to here!’’ .

After chasing tragedies throughout his personal life, his entry into the NFL was also not smooth.

 

Pacheco was the 251st pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. To put that into perspective, there were 262 picks in the draft that year, meaning he was one of the last players picked in total.

Most of the starters are picked in the first two or three rounds.

Pacheco was picked in the seventh.

Yet he became a starter in his first NFL season, made it to the Super Bowl with the Chiefs, won it in the 2022 season, only to win it for the second time in the next season.

But looks like he is destined to be in difficult situations.

The past year was definitely an emotional rollercoaster for Isiah as the RB could only take part in seven games in the season 2024. He battled through his injuries and put up with 310 rushing yards on 83 attempts, with an average of 3.7 yards per carry, with one rushing touchdown, despite his setbacks. In the passing game, he hauled in 12 receptions for 79 yards, making an average of 6.6 yards per catch. The numbers may not be great, but they were an honest effort from Isiah.

No doubt, he was a tad emotional on his birthday.

As the last season was full of injuries he met with on the field.

He had multiple cases, including a torn labrum, a broken hand, a fractured fibula, rib injuries, and concussions.

Trust me. The guy tried to play it cool, but the blows weren’t very low-key, for his fractured fibula as he straight-up missed Weeks 3-12.

Later, after his return, he also sustained another rib injury. Talk about game luck.

But shaking off the disappointment, Isiah had shown his determination, “I’d say it’s been a phenomenal comeback for me,” with the clear sign that he is motivated.

He also added,  “Just pleased and thankful for the training staff and everybody that’s been a part of the journey.

For me, [it’s] just been great.”  

But would it still be the same for him and KC in 2025? Or will the team move forward without Isiah as the upcoming draft season approaches?

 

Isiah Pacheco’s future in Kansas City looks a bit hazy

 

The chiefs are moving ahead with a strategy to reclaim the Lombardi trophy.

For which, they will leave no stone unturned in setting up their roster game on point for the 2025 season.

As far as the RB is concerned, there is only so much that his motivation can do in helping him turn around the situation.

Due to his health report, and performance last season, he is visibly at risk for making a cut for the 2025 season.

We all remember the guy was benched for an extended time during the 2024 season.

He may be in his final year of the rookie contract, but the team will hold off on any contract extensions until Isiah doesn’t prove he is 100% healthy and back in form.

Evidently, the team will take a wait-and-see approach before making any decisions in haste.

Additionally, the news on air about Travis Kelce’s return to the field next season can also influence the team’s decision on retaining Pacheco.

Kelce recently announced his return with, “I’m coming back, for sure.

Gonna try and get to the best shape I’ve been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop.

Got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle.

I can’t go out like that!!!!”

Pacheco can likely find himself on the radar amid the team’s post-Super Bowl rebuild.

Interestingly, the Chiefs’ leading man, Patrick Mahomes had previously vouched for the RB as ‘the most consistent young guy’  he had ever worked with.

With the league announcing an increased salary cap between $277.5 million and $281.5 million for the 2025 season, the Chiefs are now finding themselves relieved from the multiple salary cap losses.

Even with Kelce’s return, the team can still retain key players like Trey Smith without any major blows to the team’s financial cap.

But even with the increased salary cap, Isiah’s future in red still looks a bit hazy.

Looks like not even money can secure him a spot until the team doesn’t get a green signal from his health report.

As they say, health is wealth and Pacheco’s situation hits the words right.