Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are reuniting with familiar faces in the 2024 NFL season as they chase another Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. Shortly after approving the return of running back Kareem Hunt, Andy Reid gave the green light to having tight end Jody Fortson on the practice squad again.
The 29-year-old is back in Kansas City only a few months after leaving for the Miami Dolphins in free agency, an experience that didn’t last long. Far from being upset because of the competition at the position, Kelce looks happy with Reid’s decision.
“Another energy guy, man. Jody (Fortson), we missed Jody since he left,” Kelce told the media on Friday, via Chiefs Wire. “But at the same time, he comes right in, still working as hard as he’s ever worked, still trying to prove himself, and still just getting better, constantly getting better. And I think Jody is a great guy to have in the building, and on top of that, he’s a great dude, man.“
An undrafted free agent in 2019, Fortson was part of the Chiefs in their three Super Bowl wins during the Reid-Mahomes-Kelce era. He played only 21 games in Kansas City with just two starts, but Kelce believes Fortson’s presence is a huge boost for the TE room.
Jody Fortson #88 of the Kansas City Chiefs dives into the endzone for a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium on October 02, 2022 in Tampa, Florida.
“He’s been working his tail off, trying to get ingrained into this offense and understand just the little nuances here and there,” said Kelce. “I think we’re all trying to critique ourselves to keep getting better and to keep progressing in the tight end room, and we got a lot of athletes and a lot of guys that play some ball in there.”
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Kelce also happy that Reid brought Hunt back to Chiefs
While Fortson’s return to the practice squad is worthy of Kelce’s attention, Reid made a long-awaited move by elevating Hunt to the Chiefs’ 53-man roster during the week.
After five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, the 29-year-old is back with the team that selected him in the same draft class as Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft. Just like the quarterback and Reid, Kelce is happy to have Hunt back.
“He’s my brother from another,” said Kelce of Hunt. “He’s a good old northeast Ohio ballplayer right there, man. He plays the game, and he really is a good friend of mine. He’s a great guy, outside of everything that happened… [I’m] just happy to have the guy back in the building, and it’s been nothing but smiles and laughs since he’s been back.”
