A question about Travis Kelce's playing ability landed in the hands of legendary New York City radio personality Mike Francesa on Monday, and he offered his opinion on the star tight end.
The nine-time Pro Bowl player has just eight catches for 69 yards to start the season as the Kansas City Chiefs have won their first three games.
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Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (No. 3) intercepts a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (No. 87) during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on September 22, 2024. (Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
With sports analysts all trying to figure out why Kelce isn't participating in the offense as much as he used to, Francesa wondered if Kelce is still serious about it.
“You wonder, as an organization and as a coach, how committed Kelsey is to the sport right now,” Francesa said. He spoke on the podcast“There's a lot going on in his life. His life has changed dramatically.”
“When you see him in commercials and photo shoots, you see he now pays so much attention to how he's dressed, where the paparazzi are, everything. It's changed his life. And you wonder what football and football preparation has to do with that.”
Francesa pointed out that Atlanta Falcons safety Jesse Bates III smacked the ball out of Kelce's hands on a key play.
“When you see the safeties taking the ball away from him in key moments and letting him run around listlessly and the way he just doesn't do anything game after game, it's a legitimate question. It's puzzling, but again, how much of that is his fault? How much of that is his preparation and dedication? And it's legitimate to bring that full circle and address it.”
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Sports radio talk show host Mike Francesa watches from Carneseca Arena. (Wendell Crews – USA Today Sports)
Francesa was coached by Bill Parcells, and the radio host said the coach wanted football players, not celebrities, on his team.
“Obviously, at this stage in his career, it makes you question where his commitment and preparation is, because his performance has dropped off dramatically. And it's not just, 'Oh, the Chiefs are moving on from Kelce.' It's more than that.
“…It's very logical and very human. His life has changed. He's now flying around the world with one of the most famous people in the world. His life is a photo opportunity. What he does is a topic of conversation.”
Patrick Mahomes defended Kelce, arguing that other teams were going at him too hard.
“The respect they have for Travis is unbelievable,” he said of other teams. “And rightly so. But we call a lot of plays for Travis, and we have a couple of guys that go to him. So, he gets it. I think what's great about him is he wants to impact the game, but ultimately he wants to win.”
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (No. 87) prepares for a game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 22, 2024 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
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“Whenever he's there, whenever he's open, we're going to do our best to keep feeding him the ball. But when Russie gets there, [Rice] The more you play, the more you can run the football, the more you can get. [Xavier] “When Worthy gets involved, it makes Travis' offense more active, which means everyone is trying to take him off the field and it makes the other guys' offense more active.”
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