Travis Kelce Is ‘Training Like Crazy.’ But Kansas City Might Use Him Less.

PALM BEACH, Fla. — One of the archetypal radical to larn of Travis Kelce’s determination this offseason was Andy Reid, the lone caput manager Kelce has played for successful his 12-year NFL career.

Kelce, the aboriginal Hall of Fame choky end, informed Reid that helium wasn’t retiring little than a week aft the Kansas City Chiefs’ disappointing nonaccomplishment to the Philadelphia Eagles successful Super Bowl LIX.

“I conscionable wanted him to enactment it retired determination and not me,” Reid said Monday. “I ever similar guys to measurement backmost (after the season), but helium wants to travel backmost and he’s grooming similar crazy, too.”

Ahead of what could beryllium the last play of Kelce’s illustrious career, Reid said astatine the NFL owners’ meetings that the Chiefs program to find amended ways to enactment him wrong the operation of their offense. Last season, Kelce, 35, was forced to transportation a batch of the discourtesy on with backmost Patrick Mahomes aft receivers Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown and moving backmost Isiah Pacheco suffered important injuries. Kelce led the Chiefs with 133 targets, but his 823 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns were vocation lows.

Reid acknowledged that 1 mode for the Chiefs to negociate Kelce’s effectiveness is by playing him little than the 940 snaps (84 percent of the offense) helium had past season, adjacent though helium likes taking each drawback and signifier rep.

“I’ll spot erstwhile helium comes backmost and spot wherever he’s at,” Reid said. “He’s learning erstwhile to travel retired erstwhile helium needs it.

“We were banged up astatine the (receiver) positions, truthful that doesn’t assistance a choky end’s origin astatine all. The healthier we tin beryllium astir him, helium tin inactive beryllium productive.”

Kelce finished Super Bowl LIX with conscionable 4 receptions connected six targets for 39 yards. It was the archetypal clip successful his vocation that helium was held without a reception successful the archetypal fractional of a postseason game. Mahomes ne'er got successful bushed against the Eagles, either. The Philadelphia defence dominated the enactment of scrimmage, exploiting the Chiefs’ biggest weakness: the violative line. The Eagles’ four-man walk unreserved generated 16 pressures and sacked Mahomes six times, the astir successful his career.

Two days aft the loss, Kelce revealed connected the “New Heights” podcast, which helium co-hosts with his member and erstwhile Eagles halfway Jason Kelce, that helium was contemplating retirement. In aboriginal March, though, Kelce explained his reasons for returning for the upcoming season.

“The biggest happening is that I f—— emotion playing the crippled of football,” Kelce said connected his podcast. “I inactive consciousness similar I tin play astatine a precocious level — and perchance astatine a higher level than I did past year. I don’t deliberation it was my champion outing. I fto my guys down successful a batch much moments than I helped them, particularly if you look astatine my way grounds successful however I’ve been successful (previous) years.

“I privation to springiness it a bully run. I’ve got a atrocious sensation successful my rima connected however I ended the twelvemonth and however accountable I was for the radical astir me.”

YEAR 13. pic.twitter.com/qHg9cibYhd

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 28, 2025

This offseason, the Chiefs re-signed Brown to a one-year contract. The woody ensured the team’s apical 3 wide receivers — Brown, Rice and Xavier Worthy — volition get the accidental to play unneurotic successful 2025, which should assistance Kelce find much abstraction successful the mediate of the field. The Chiefs could besides prime a receiver oregon a choky extremity successful the NFL Draft aboriginal this month, idiosyncratic who would person the accidental to larn from Kelce.

“I’m truthful excited that he’s going to beryllium back,” nine proprietor Clark Hunt said of Kelce. “I deliberation heavy down, (general manager) Brett (Veach), Andy and I felt similar helium would beryllium back. He loves the game, helium loves his teammates and I cognize Coach Reid is excited to person his vigor backmost successful the gathering for astatine slightest 1 much year.

“He’s not going to archer america which twelvemonth is going to beryllium his past year. He’s been an important portion of the occurrence that we’ve had implicit the past 7 years. He’s already a Hall of Famer and helium has a peculiar chemistry with Patrick. I deliberation similar each year, it’s going to beryllium amusive to spot the 2 of them enactment their magic again this year.”

Mahomes backmost to work

Well up of the Chiefs’ offseason program, which volition commencement aboriginal this month, Mahomes already looks different. In precocious February, Mahomes appeared courtside astatine a location men’s hoops crippled for Texas Tech, his alma mater, with a caller haircut, cutting his Mohawk successful favour of a short, much mature driblet fade.

Mahomes looks antithetic successful the gym, too. Known the past respective years for his Dad Bod — a pudgy midsection to spell with defined muscles successful his arms and legs — helium has slimmed down, shedding pounds aft respective workout sessions with Bobby Stroupe, his longtime show trainer successful Tyler, Texas.

“He’ll travel backmost adjacent amended than helium was — and that’s the large happening astir him,” Reid said of Mahomes. “In your career, you’re ever moving your crippled against these superb antiaircraft coordinators. The enactment is ne'er done. He did past offseason, too, but helium does a bully occupation of keeping himself successful large shape. You tin spot that aft helium runs the shot and he’s not wholly gassed aft the play. He’s played a batch of games and taken a fewer hits.

“As for the haircut thing, he’s been saying he’s going to bash that for the past 2 years. It’s not similar helium did it conscionable due to the fact that of the Super Bowl.”

New chopped for QB1💈 pic.twitter.com/PAXu1KYoWR

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 25, 2025

Mahomes, who volition crook 30 successful September, is the league’s 13th-highest-paid quarterback, tied with Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons) with an mean wage of $45 million. Hunt, however, said Monday that the Chiefs don’t program to set his declaration again. In September 2023, the Chiefs restructured it, paying him $210.6 cardinal implicit the adjacent 4 seasons. At the time, it was the astir successful NFL past implicit 4 years.

“We upgraded his woody wrong the confines of his archetypal 10-year extension,” Hunt said. “That truly enactment successful spot a strategy that I don’t spot changing for respective years.”

Hunt pleased to clasp Smith, Bolton

The Chiefs’ champion 2 moves this offseason, according to Hunt, were Veach retaining close defender Trey Smith and linebacker Nick Bolton.

Before the league’s caller year, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag connected Smith, preventing him from becoming a escaped cause and guaranteeing him a one-year wage of $23.4 million. A mates of weeks later, the Chiefs signed Bolton to a three-year, $45 cardinal deal, including $30 cardinal guaranteed.

Hunt acknowledged Monday that the summation successful the league’s wage headdress to $279.2 cardinal helped the Chiefs execute 1 of their biggest missions. The Chiefs had been operating nether the content that the wage headdress would beryllium astir $270 million.

“We’re delighted to person some of them with america successful 2025 — and hopefully for a agelong clip past this season,” Hunt said of Smith and Bolton.

2x Super Bowl Champ Trey Smith would emotion to enactment successful Kansas City with the Chiefs.@heykayadams | @treysmith pic.twitter.com/LesmJTgoLx

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) March 24, 2025

Smith, a Pro Bowl defender who was ranked arsenic the second-best escaped cause successful The Athletic’s apical 150, would’ve been the astir coveted free-agent violative lineman this spring.

Known for his athleticism and durability, Smith has started 80 of 81 games, including playoffs. He has been ascendant successful the moving crippled and has improved successful walk extortion for Mahomes. Last season, Smith played 655 pass-blocking snaps and didn’t let a sack.

“Ultimately, man, I tin lone absorption connected moving retired and training,” Smith said past week connected “Up & Adams” with big Kay Adams. “I emotion Kansas City, it’s my location and I emotion the Chiefs. The fans successful Kansas City are immoderate of the champion radical I’ve ever been around. Ultimately, I would emotion to enactment there. That’s my plan.”

Smith is projected to bid a four-year, $86 cardinal contract, including $52.5 cardinal guaranteed, according to Pro Football Focus. The Chiefs could motion him to a five-year woody with astatine slightest $50 cardinal afloat guaranteed, which would beryllium the astir ever for a guard. The squad prefers a five-year woody due to the fact that it would beryllium amended to dispersed the wealth implicit those years portion besides projecting that the wage headdress volition proceed to increase.

Smith is the lone subordinate successful the league inactive connected the franchise tag. The deadline for him and the squad to hold to a declaration hold is 3 p.m. CT July 15. Hunt is assured the Chiefs volition motion Smith to an extension.

“Our desire, and I judge Trey’s arsenic well, is to enactment retired a semipermanent deal,” Hunt said. “We privation to get that done earlier the deadline.”

(Photo: David Eulitt / Getty Images)

Nate Taylor covers the Kansas City Chiefs arsenic a unit writer for The Athletic. Since 2018, Taylor has covered aggregate Super Bowls, was Pro Football Writers of America’s victor of the Bob Oates bushed reporting grant for his sum of the Chiefs during the 2022 play and has written extensively connected the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Earlier successful his career, Taylor covered the Indiana Pacers for The Indianapolis Star, was a sports features writer for The New York Times and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and wrote astir precocious schoolhouse sports for The Raleigh News & Observer. He has besides covered different large events, specified arsenic the NBA Finals, the NCAA Tournament and the US Open. A Kansas City native, Taylor graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a bachelor’s grade successful journalism. Follow Nate connected Twitter @ByNateTaylor