The career of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is expected to eventually end with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This past Sunday’s milestone is just the latest piece of evidence for the argument as to why he belongs.
Kelce eclipsed 10,000 career receiving yards, making him only the fifth tight end to reach that status. He also clinched his seventh straight 1,000-yard season, all on his first reception of Sunday’s victory over the Denver Broncos. The All-Pro tight end addressed the media following the game revealing his feelings on the milestone and sharing the accomplishment with his teammates and coaches.
“Honestly, right now, the win means more than any of those stats,” said Kelce.“Everybody’s kind of been talking about me getting those stats at some point this year, so it was on everybody’s radar, but to come up here and get a win and be a part of the crowd that is the 10,000 crew: [Antonio] Gates, [Jason] Witten, [Tony] Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe, Broncos, the main guy who I was chasing today. Obviously, all those guys are unbelievable company, and [I am] very fortunate that I’ve had the coaches and the players around me to be able to have this much success in the NFL as I have.”
Kelce is only 52 yards behind Sharpe for fourth on the all-time list making it highly likely he will continue to ascend the rankings this season. Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez leads the pack with over 5,000 yards more than Kelce, but at 33 years old, Kelce hit the 10,000 yards mark 37 games quicker than Gonzalez did. It’s just another testament to how Kelce has changed the game for the tight-end position.
