Wedensday training camp notebook: In Year 13, Kelce still longs for one more Super Bowl

For the 12th time and in his 13th season, Travis Kelce has made his home in St. Joseph, Missouri, on the campus of Missouri Western State University. Kelce’s life looks much different now than in Year 1.

Widely regarded as a “future Pro Football Hall of Famer,” the tight end’s IMDb page has begun to fill, most recently with Happy Gilmore 2. The “New Heights” podcast he shares with his brother, Jason, has 2.5 million subscribers — and his ongoing relationship with the world’s biggest pop star has bred a level of fame he surely never imagined.

Yet, there he stood in front of media members on Wednesday after his 13th practice, content to be one of the guys with February dreams.

[We’re] trying to win Super Bowls, man,“ said Kelce. ”[Working hard is] the only way you get there. I think it starts in the offseason, and when you get out here to St. Joe and you get into training camp, it really signifies coming together — the chemistry, the culture that you need to have to keep getting better every single day, every single week throughout the year, and hopefully playing your best football by December, January, and February.“

Due to inclement weather on Wednesday, the Chiefs were forced to move practice into the indoor facility, providing a break from what on some days has been uncomfortable, blistering heat. Head coach Andy Reid is known for some of the league’s most strenuous training-camp practices. For Kelce, it’s the norm: he’s never had it any other way.

“Once you’re here, it’s all about football, man,“ said Kelce. ”You eat, breathe and sleep football. You try and be there for the guys next to you — the new guys that are coming in, trying to get acclimated. It really hasn’t changed since I’ve been here. Coach Reid does a great job of putting a plan in place — putting a regimen in place [that] gives you a chance to succeed… and find out what you’re made of.“

Entering his age-35 season, Kelce said he lost weight, hoping to regain some of the explosiveness he may have lost during 2024’s campaign. Kelce began his career as a tight end for Alex Smith, but 2025 marks his eighth season as a target for two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes.

The duo has now spent nearly a decade playing together, yet Kelce senses a new level of hunger from Mahomes.

“Just how fast his mind is moving — it seems like he’s always a step ahead,” said the tight end of his quarterback. “His arm is alive right now. It’s fun to see him know the play, know where he’s going before the snap happens. On top of that, just being a leader — being our biggest, fearless competitor. He’s really leading this team right now, working hard and getting right.”

Kansas City hopes to transition Kelce to a complementary role this season, with wide receiver Rashee Rice as the focal point, whenever he gets back from an expected suspension. In addition, wide receiver Xavier Worthy is expected to take a step forward, and Noah Gray will already be in his fifth year as Kelce’s protégé.

“If you’ve been out here, you’ve noticed how good Noah Gray’s been, man,” said Kelce. “He’s really taken it up to the next level. He’s an absolute stud. I don’t think I’ve seen him lose a single rep yet. He’s awesome right now and it’s fun to see him kind of take those next steps, getting higher and higher on the board.”

Gray appreciates the support, crediting his mentor for the ongoing guidance.

“Every year, he just gets wiser and wiser,” said Gray in late July. “Every year, he’s continuing to pour into guys like me, the young guys… everybody, everybody in that room. We’re just taking it all in. He just keeps giving more and more information about what he’s seeing on the field. Watching him and his practice habits, and the way he works always rubs off on us. So, when you [have] a leader like that, that continues to lead the room, [and] continues to lead the team, it rubs off on everybody else and it makes a huge difference.”

Kelce refers to St. Joseph and Missouri Western State as his “sanctuary,” his summer home where he and his friends — the coaches, players and even equipment staff members — reassemble to achieve their one common goal: another Super Bowl championship. It is grueling work, but it is easy to tell that it’s that grind that Kelce understands will miss someday.

Whether this is truly “it” or not, Kelce’s end is far closer than the beginning — and having been there from the start makes this potential beginning-of-the-end all the sweeter.

“I think that gives me more juice than anything else, is the fact that we’ve created this culture,” he said. “We’ve created this machine. When you do it the right way, it works, and you get to win football games because of it. That alone gives you the excitement that what we’re doing here is special.”

Our John Dixon compiled all of Wednesday’s posts here. Here is the post of the day:

I have a quiet hunch that this will be the opening-day rotation.

Tight end Travis Kelce on his favorite memory of St. Joseph, if it is indeed his last trip: “Ask me that when I retire.”

Tuesday’s practice leads into the final practice of the week on Thursday at 9:15 a.m. Arrowhead Time. Following the practice, head coach Andy Reid will address the media while the entire team signs autographs. It is officially designated as a exclusive season-ticket holder day.

Here’s the complete 2025 training camp schedule.