The Kansas City Chiefs have started the season 3-0, but what has surprised many is that their star tight end Travis Kelce is having the worst start to his career so far, as he is entering into his 11th year in the NFL.
Through three games this season, Kelce has eight catches for 69 yards, without any touchdowns. For the nine-time Pro Bowler, this used to be a stat line that he would have for one game (on a bad day).
Travis Kelce through the first 3 games:
Week 1 - 3/34 (4 targets)
Week 2 - 1/5 (3 targets)
Week 3 - 4/30 (5 targets) pic.twitter.com/IQAWeWyG0M
— The Fantasy Source (@FantasySource_) September 23, 2024
To point out, this is the worst three-game stretch of his career. In view of this, Todd McShay, who was recently laid off from ESPN due to budget cuts, sounded off on Kelce, as he said the reason for his struggles is because of "partying all offseason" with his superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift.
In addition to him being on almost every television commercial, some believe this has shifted 32-year-old Kelce's focus beyond football.
Travis Kelce was paid $20 million to do the Pfizer vaccine commercials
That's $6 million more than he gets paid by the Kansas City Chiefshttps://t.co/RMLzOvZXrO pic.twitter.com/FiZi1zOVNL
— Vision4theBlind (@Vision4theBlind) December 31, 2023
📷 Travis Kelce "Gladiator II" NFL Pepsi commercial. pic.twitter.com/eL70fgoAnr
— 87KillaTrav (@87KillaT) September 5, 2024
McShay noted that since he's regarded as the poster boy of the league now, that's why people can't speak out against him, so he took it upon himself to do just that while appearing on "The Ryen Rusillo Podcast" Monday.
Former ESPN talent Todd McShay is ripping Travis Kelce for his slow start to the season and calls him out of shape and insinuates that he's not concentrating enough on football.
-The Ringer Podcast pic.twitter.com/Tcf0HXUvX3
— Starcade Media (@StarcadeMediaKC) September 24, 2024
"Every show I watch, every pregame show, halftime show, postgame show, weekday show, every broadcast I watch for the last few weeks, it's like are we not allowed to say that he's out of shape, that he's been partying all offseason? He's been jet-setting around with the most famous person probably in the entire world, that's he drinking, going to the U.S. Open."
With this in mind, McShay had a lot to say about Kelce's lifestyle choices the last couple of years, citing this as the reason why the superstar tight end looks like a shell of his former self.
"What I do know is, I want you to take a picture from preseason 2022 and then take a picture preseason 2024, they're barely the same human being... You can't be doing all of those things and still be the same person physically as you were in 2022."
In regards to the lack of production from Kelce, quarterback Patrick Mahomes has blamed this on defenses scheming against the four-time All-Pro.
Patrick Mahomes on Travis Kelce's low output through three games:
"The respect factor [teams] have for Travis is unreal...we're calling a lot of plays for Travis, and it's like two or three people going to him" pic.twitter.com/jxv7udBiZq
— Landon Reinhardt (@landonian87) September 23, 2024
"It's crazy because teams still — the respect factor they have for Travis is just unreal. It's well-deserved," Mahomes said. "We're calling a lot of plays for Travis and it's like two or three people are going to him."
While McShay acknowledges this, he says the Kelce of old wouldn't have been shutdown.
"Everyone's like 'We got to get him the ball, why isn't he part of the offense?' 'The defense is double-covering.' Here's the thing, bottom line with Kelce: The coverage and the respect he gets is the same, the athlete is not."
Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes together:
• THREE Super Bowls
• Four AFC Championships
• Most postseason TDs ever
• Co-owners of Alpine F1
• Co-stars for State Farm
• Highest-paid QB-TE duo ever pic.twitter.com/6fEOXYydTH— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 12, 2024
Even so, McShay believes Kelce will eventually get in shape and later in the season we will see flashes of his greatness, that has made him to be one of the best receiving tight ends that has entered the league.
"I don't see the same explosiveness, I see him wearing down a little bit in games, it's okay, he'll work himself back into shape. It's not the first guy ever whose not quite in the elite shape that he was... He's an unbelievable competitor, he's one of the best to ever do it and he still finds a way to make a play or two here and there and shows up in some clutch moments, but he's not the same guy right now."
Ultimately, McShay doesn't understand why others haven't called out Kelce, for his regression is seemingly obvious.
"And you're sitting here and you're defending him, too. Is there some kind of message I'm not getting from the league that you're not allowed to say he's not in the same shape, he's not able to produce at the highest level right now? And he'll probably work himself back into shape by Week 8, 9, 10 this season. Are we not allowed to say that?"
All in all, the criticisms can't be too harsh as Kelce is a three-time champion, coming off being a key contributor on back-to-back Super Bowl winning Chiefs teams. But some believe after he started dating Swift last year, that it has directly been correlated to when his on-the-field play started declining.
"I'm not blaming it on Taylor Swift, I'm not blaming anything, all I'm saying is when you win two Super Bowls, you got that whole tour that happens after the Super Bowl, he's the most commercialized guy, there's no one else doing more commercials I don't think in the league, he and Mahomes are up there, I think Kelce's doing more commercials and things, he's been at more events, doing more things socially. It's impossible to carry that schedule and still put in the same amount of time for football," McShay concluded.
No matter what happens, Kelce's career numbers are viewed as good enough to earn him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio one day.
Notably, he is fourth all-time for tight ends, in both receptions (915) and receiving yards (11,397) and fifth all-time in touchdowns (74).
Related: Travis Kelce Says Taylor Swift Draws Up Offensive Plays For The Chiefs
