Travis Kelce showed up to Chiefs minicamp looking like a man who knows Father Time is eyeing his locker. Leaner, quicker, and just a little more twitchy than he was last season, Kelce didn’t have to say much—his body said it for him. After a 2024 season where he played slightly heavier and battled through some bumps, the 35-year-old came in trimmed down, reportedly shedding some weight to sharpen his burst and keep defenders guessing. It wasn’t a dramatic drop, more like a vet fine-tuning the machine.
And you could tell Andy Reid noticed. The head coach didn’t make a big deal of it, but the subtext was clear—Kelce’s evolving. Reid hinted at both Kelce’s physical and mental adjustments as he ages toward the twilight of his career. On June 19th, during the Chiefs’ presser, Reid was asked about how he sees the season playing out for him in terms of playing time and if there’s any difference than normal.
Reid straight-up admitted that he’s not feeling any of that. “Yeah, I’m not really feeling that,” the head coach explained. “It would be similar to last year, I would imagine, as it goes. He’s (Kelce) in great shape right now, so I think he’s looking forward to getting going.” However, when asked his thoughts on Kelce’s age, the head coach dropped a bombshell and made one thing certain: Travis Kelce is getting older. The tight end does not know it, but he’s indeed getting older.
“Listen, I always watch him,” Reid added. “I always keep an eye on him. I know he’s getting older. He doesn’t know he’s getting older, but I do, so I can be the bad guy in some cases there if needed.” Given that the veteran tight end will turn 36 in a few months, Andy Reid spelled it out plainly that if needed, he’ll step in and limit Kelce’s workload if he sees any signs that age is starting to affect him.
“But if I think it’s catching up to him a little bit, I’ll pull off and put him where he needs to be. Other than that, he hasn’t shown me any of that yet,” the head coach continued. Though it’s concerning for the Chiefs’ receiving corps as well as for the Chiefs Kingdom that Kelce is getting old and is near toward the end of his career. But the silver lining? He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet. Thanks to his offseason move to lose weight and his intense training sessions in Florida.
“He’s done really well with it,” Reid further continued. “I know he’s told you that, but you can tell he’s worked out. He normally comes in pretty good shape, so it’s not like he hasn’t been. You don’t survive as long as he hasn’t played the level he has. If you’re not in good shape, his weight, he’s one of those guys who could fluctuate with his weight. And he’s played it pretty successfully at a higher weight and successfully at a lower weight. So, right now, he’s a little bit lower than what he was last year.”
This is a developing story. Stay Tuned!
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