Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been a forgotten man so far in camp, but he's still very much around.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been a bit of a forgotten man so far in Chiefs camp, with most of the attention on offense being devoted to the performance of the wide receivers, the ongoing recovery of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the addition of new running back Kenneth Walker III.
But the 36-year old Kelce still has an important role to play, and according to a report from Nate Taylor of ESPN, he also wants to be more accountable as a leader in the locker room.
"I've still got a lot of love for this game," Kelce said this week. "I want to go out there and prove to myself that I can play at a better level than I did last year. That's probably the biggest thing for me, is making sure I'm accountable to the guys in this [locker] room and every single play that I'm out there."
Kelce is still being paid well at $12 million for his final season, with incentives that could boost that level to $15 million. According to Taylor, he’s putting more emphasis on making contested catches.
"[Just] being more accountable when the ball is in the air," Kelce said. "There were a few games last year that I felt like I put on myself. In the blocking world, being able to get my guy so we can spring guys for bigger gains. And just being a better leader.
"When we get stuck with adversity hitting, who's going to want to be in that foxhole with you. I want to be one of those guys everybody counts on to get us out of that foxhole."
Kelce was certainly no slouch last year. Per Taylor, Kelce led the Chiefs in targets (108), receptions (76), yards (851), touchdowns (five) and receiving first downs (45) last season.
But he also had a couple of key drops that definitely stung, as they led to interceptions in big games. Taylor cited one against the Philadelphia Eagles, along with a pair of drops against the Houston Texans that were especially costly.
Kelce is also back to play with Mahomes, which isn’t surprising at all. There were brief reports that he might sign elsewhere when his return his a contract snag, but everybody knew Kelce would be back to help Mahomes recover from knee surgery by providing a reliable target.
"Everybody knows I love that guy," Kelce said. "That's a brother to me. I'm so proud of the way he handled adversity from last year to right now. We still have about a month until the first game, but if you see him out here, he's enjoying the game, competing at a high level and not thinking about the knee. He's playing his tail off and leading us."
