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Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs yells at head coach Andy Reid.
Despite slogging their way to a 22-9 win Sunday night over the New York Giants — a team that has won just five of its last 25 games going back to 2023 — the Kansas City Chiefs are off to their weakest start since 2021, the last time they opened the season at 1-2.
But this year is actually worse, at least on the offensive side of the ball. In 2021 — the most recent season in which the Chiefs failed to get to the Super Bowl — the Chiefs’ offense put up 92 points in the first three games. This year, the Patrick Mahomes-led attack has produced a mere 60, tied with the New England Patriots for 11th fewest in the NFL.
One of the main reasons for Kansas City’s offensive struggles has got to be their future Hall of Fame tight end, 35-year-old Travis Kelce. In fact, Kelce has been so frustrating to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid that Reid actually threatened to cut Kelce from the team in a heated moment during Sunday night’s game, according to a new report.
Kelce Has Made Brutal Mistakes
Kelce has caught just 10 passes in 17 targets over the first three games. That’s an average of just 3.33 catches per game compared to 5.67 for his career. His catch percentage of 58.8 is also abysmal compared to his career mark of 71.6.
The numbers fail to tell the whole story. Kelce has made some brutal misplays. He dropped a pass just outside of the end zone in Week Two against the Philadelphia Eagles that bounced into the hands of a defender who returned the interception 41 yards.
In Week One, against the Los Angeles Chargers, Kelce inexplicably collided on a passing route with wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Kelce is listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds. Worthy at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds. The collision injured Worthy’s shoulder and the 2024 first-round draft pick out of Texas hasn’t played since.
What Was Said in Sideline Blow-Up
Kelce had yet another botched play in Sunday’s game, out of position on a short pass over the middle from Mahomes that NBC Sunday Night Football commentator Chris Collinsworth could have been made “on the playground,” Kelce simply failed to catch an easy toss.
Kelce’s ineptitude led to a televised sideline blow-up between the tight end and Reid, reminiscent of the confrontation between the player and coach that took place during Super Bowl 58. Now, as then, Reid dismissed the confrontation as actually a good thing, because it showed “juice” on the part of Kelce.
But in the moment, according to forensic lip reader Nicola Hickling, cited by the Daily Mail newspaper, Reid felt a bit more strongly about the Kelce situation.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t kick you off!” the coach shouted at his four-time first team All-Pro tight end, as interpreted by Hickling. “How about that?”
According to her website, Hickling, “is a visionary entrepreneur and the driving force behind LipReader, a groundbreaking company specialising in lipreading and expert witness reports. As the founder of LipReader, Nicola has spearheaded the development of innovative technologies and services that empower individuals with hearing impairments.”
Kelce Blames Ankle Injury, the Lip-Reader Says
Kelce then appeared to make an excuse for missing the pass from Mahomes, according to the forensic lip reader, referring to a previously undisclosed ankle injury.
“It’s my ankle, I need to see doc about that. I could’ve saved that if it wasn’t for that,” Kelce said, in Hickling’s interpretation.
Kelce may have been referring to lingering effects of a non-contact ankle injury he suffered in 2023, during a Week Five game against the Minnesota Vikings. But Kelce has not publicly complained of the ankle bothering him this season.
In any event, the chances of Reid actually following through on his threat to “kick (Kelce) off” the team seem remote at best.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
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