Travis Kelce’s career has had a before and after as Patrick Mahomes takes over as the Chiefs’ starter in 2018, which is why they are such good friends. His first few years with the Chiefs, with Alex Smith at quarterback, saw the young man from the University of Cincinnati grow and understand the game enough to become a constant threat and one of the best tight ends in NFL history from 2018 onwards, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Rob Gronkowski, Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.
Len Dawson: 237 Pass TDs
Patrick Mahomes: 237 Pass TDsTony Gonzalez: 76 Rec TDs
Travis Kelce: 76 Rec TDsBoth Mahomes and Kelce could be breaking franchise records on #BlackFridayNFL 👀 pic.twitter.com/T86jGcZ022
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) November 27, 2024
Is Travis Giving a Hint About His Retirement
Travis is currently tied with legend Tony Gonzalez for the most touchdowns in Chiefs history (76), but it is worth noting that Travis has done it in 172 games compared to Gonzalez’s 190. In the New Heights podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, they talked about the longevity of Gonzalez, who after 12 years with the Chiefs spent another five in Atlanta, where he finished as the NFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards and receptions by a tight end, and third in total receptions among all players, the definition of Hall of Famer.
Travis and Jason commented on Travis’ record of passing 12000 yards in the last game against the Chargers, becoming the fastest tight end to do it (172 games), Jason commented that he had passed the record of Tony Gonzalez who did it in 210 games, Travis commented “God damn, he played 210 games, how the f**k did he play so many games” Surprised by the longevity of Gonzalez who played a total of 270 games, injuries spared him throughout his career, I wish it happened to everyone.
The topic continued with Jason replying “Well he played more than that, it took him 210 games to get to 12,000” to which Travis replied “40 more games, I don’t know if I can, I don’t know if I can play 40 more! ” which would be about three more seasons to reach 210 games, and the truth is that I doubt Travis will reach 38 in the NFL, especially if the Chiefs win the championship this year and become the first three-peat in league history, which would allow Travis to retire on a high and only think about his future outside the NFL and with his partner Taylor Swift. Let’s also take into account the big drop in their statistics this season.
The Three-Peat Dream and Kelce’s Legacy
Imagine if they won the three-peat and Travis proposed to Taylor by accepting the Super Bowl MVP award, of course he would retire at that point. But forgetting fantasies and being realistic, it seems impossible for Travis to surpass him in yards, he has 3 thousand less , or receptions, he is 400+ short, but Gonzalez never won a Super Bowl something Travis can boast plus probably on Sunday against the Browns he will surpass him in most touchdown receptions in Chiefs history, basically Gonzalez ran for Gronk and Kelce to walk and get these very successful runs.
In the four years before Mahomes, Kelce had 1125 yards and eight touchdowns as best numbers in a season, very good numbers, but the change and improvement is such that he now holds the record for most receiving yards in a season by a tight end (1416), more games with more than 100 yards receiving by a tight end (37), more seasons with more than 1,000 yards receiving by a tight end (7) and also more postseason receptions in a career by any player (165) highlighting his constant participation in the playoffs, in fact only in 2014 did he not play in the playoffs in his career.
Chiefs’ Path Ahead in a Historic Season
Now looking ahead to the rest of the Chiefs’ schedule and their quest for a first three-peat, he and the Chiefs take on the Cleveland Browns this week in what looks like an easy win on paper. After that, the road gets tougher. The Chiefs finish the season with two tough road games: the eagerly awaited Christmas Day clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the season finale at Denver. Their only remaining home game is against the Houston Texans on Saturday 21 December. After that, there will be more records and more playoff games in the already Hall of Fame career for Travis.
ELECTRIC: #Chargers superstar Derwin James was mic’d up for the entire game while covering rival Travis Kelce.
👀
James and Kelce trash-talked back and forth, and it was awesome. They are two of the best in the league.
We need more content like this 🔥
pic.twitter.com/vhJEjzFhrb— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 10, 2024
