Chiefs' Travis Kelce breaks silence on slow start with clear reminder for Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes

Travis Kelce‘s low production with the Kansas City Chiefs is a big storyline early in the 2024 NFL season. The tight end already addressed this situation with a clear message to Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid last week. But since things didn’t change on Sunday night, Kelce’s slow start continues to be a popular talking point around the league.

The three-time Super Bowl champion, who will turn 35 next week, has only made eight catches for 69 yards through the first three weeks of the 2024 NFL season. Kelce knows this doesn’t meet the standard he’s set over the years.

“I played like trash,” Kelce said on the latest episode of his ‘New Heights’ podcast with brother Jason, before making an important clarification, “I’m playing winning football. It’s not trash. But it could be better.”

Kelce had already talked about his stats before Week 3, but was once again limited to a small production Sunday night, making just four receptions for 30 yards against the Atlanta Falcons.

Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on prior to kickoff against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Of course, his competitive nature will always make the tight end want to improve. But just like he did before the Falcons game, Kelce once again made it clear to Mahomes and Reid there’s nothing to be worried about.

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Kelce makes something clear to Mahomes, Reid

Kelce has been Mahomes‘ favorite target all these years, a situation that has suddenly changed this season. But the tight end knows this is not the quarterback’s fault, as defenses are leaving other pass catchers with more spaces.

“Whatever it is. It’s football, baby. I’m not getting caught up in getting the targets and all that,” Kelce said, as quoted by Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. “I just want to have a successful offense, and I think Pat’s doing a great job of finding the open guy and making the right decisions right now. … you just want to make sure that you clean up all the mistakes that you’re you’re making, make sure that you’re communicating so that everybody understands exactly where we’re going moving forward. And nobody does it better than Coach (Andy) Reid and Pat Mahomes.“

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This is exactly what the quarterback and head coach mentioned when talking about Kelce’s numbers. Just like Reid and Mahomes aren’t concerned about the stats sheet, the tight end made it clear the only thing he cares about is that the Chiefs get wins.

“I’ve had a lot of catches in this league, man,” Kelce said. “I’m not worried about, you know, the catches and the yards and all of that. I have the most fun when I get the ball thrown my way. Who doesn’t? I mean, it has everything to do with execution, just making sure we’re doing whatever we can to win these football games, man. And that’s always going to be the goal.

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“As long as we’re winning football games, we’re good to go, baby,” he added. “We’re 3-0, man, it doesn’t get any better than a 3-0 start.“