The Kansas City Chiefs are starting their 2023 season in an immediate rut after the offense struggled without All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce. The receivers charged with making big plays weren’t on the same page, with Patrick Mahomes leading to many dropped passes.
Mahomes was visibly upset during the game as he couldn’t build a rhythm with his receivers, especially during key moments. The reigning league MVP shared his thoughts on not having Kelce in the lineup and finding out before game time during his post-game press conference.
Buy Chiefs Tickets“Yeah, you’re losing one of the best, I think, the best tight end of all time.” said Mahomes, “But guys, other guys gotta step up. I mean, it’s gonna have an impact on the game, but other guys got to step up, and they’re gonna have to step up in moments because I’m sure there’d be times he gets doubled, and so just going to have to rely on these other guys that are young and talented to step up and make plays, and I believe that they will.”
Kelce suffered the hyper-extended knee injury during Tuesday’s practice, causing severe swelling and pain. The league’s top tight end wanted to play through the pain but was held out of the game out of caution.
“I mean, you know, Travis (Kelce), he’s kind of like me,” Mahomes explained. “I want to play. I want to be out there with the guys. He works extremely hard to be out there, and kind of a freak deal that he wasn’t able to make it. So hopefully, we’ll try to rehab him with these extra days and get him going hopefully for next week.
“I’m not gonna put anything past Trav; he was trying to play today. It just literally couldn’t; now I know if it was his decision. It was kind of the guys above, knowing it’s gonna be a long season. But yeah, I mean, he’s gonna try to do whatever he can to be out there, and hopefully, he can clear all those doctors’ tests and then get out there on the football field.”
Kelce will undergo more tests leading into the Chiefs Week 2 game in Jacksonville, hoping to return to the field and provide a much-needed spark.
