Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs runs past Byron Murphy Jr. of the Minnesota Vikings while … [+] scoring a touchdown during the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium on Oct. 8, 2023. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesOn his popular New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce recently referred to the “roller coaster of life.”
His life certainly has had its share of ups and down this season.
He missed Week One with a knee injury, brought superstar Taylor Swift to two Chiefs games, turned 34 on Oct. 5 and then suffered what first appeared to be a significant ankle injury three days later during Sunday’s 27-20 win vs. the Minnesota Vikings.
With 1: 21 left in the first half, Kelce lined up on right side, blocked linebacker Pat Jones II and then released before catching the pass for no gain and falling to the turf with an ankle injury.
“Travis has the same mindset as I do. If you give him a window,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said, “he’s going to get back in the game. So he’s a competitor, man. That’s why he’s one of the greatest.”
Mahomes called it a role reversal from last year’s divisional playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars when the quarterback hurt his own ankle before halftime and then returned.
Mahomes did not get much of an injury update during intermission.
“I don’t like to talk to Travis when he’s hurting,” he joked, “because he’s a mean guy.”
At the beginning of the third quarter, Kelce did tell head coach Andy Reid just to give him a minute and that he would be okay.
He returned on the Chiefs’ second offensive drive of the third quarter and caught six balls on the drive, including a 3rd-and-7 conversion despite tight man coverage by safety Josh Metellus, and a four-yard touchdown, which was the 75th of his career.
That improbable third-down catch vs. Metellus’ outside leverage was Kelce’s first since leaving the game.
“He made a tough catch. He held onto it into the ground,” Mahomes said. “It was a big-time catch in a big moment of the game.”
For the first time in two games, Swift was not there to cheer on Kelce, but her presence already has had an impact on both Kelce and the NFL’s popularity.
After the first game Swift attended — the Chiefs win against the Chicago Bears — sportswear and fan merchandise company Fanatics reported that Kelce’s jersey sales had spiked more than 400%.
The following Chiefs game against the New York Jets ranked as the most-watched Sunday show since the Super Bowl, and female viewership increased by more than 35%. Nielsen reported 53% more teenage girls watched Sunday Night Football than last season because of Swift’s attendance.
The phenomenon extended to Kelce’s podcast as it rose to No. 1 on Spotify and AppleAAPL and added more than 200,000 YouTube subscribers in two weeks.
“It’s worldwide, man,” Kelce said. “Everybody is having fun with it. Whether I think they’re overdoing it or not, I brought this to myself. I’ve been fortunate enough to have fun with it.”
Despite all this attention, the normally loquacious Kelce, who spoke to local media members on Friday for the first time in a couple of weeks, showed that football remains his priority by gutting out Sunday’s game with an injury.
He led all players with 10 receptions and 67 receiving yards, dispelling any thoughts that the recently-turned-34-year-old had lost a step with age.
“I haven’t seen that,” Reid said. “He goes out and he cranks every day. So I mean he works his tail off. He never asks for time off or days off or anything, an amazing guy that way.”
Kelce, though, faces a challenge because he has a short week to recover before the Chiefs host the Denver Broncos, a team Kansas City has defeated 15 straight times, on Thursday night.
“He’ll be a little sore,” Reid said. “But he’s a pretty tough kid.”