Chiefs Insider Downplays Travis Kelce's Slump: He'll Show Up 'When It Matters Most'

Kevin C. Cox/ Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has just eight catches and 69 yards through three games, but the team isn't worried about the slow start, a source with the Chiefs told The Athletic's Dianna Russini :

"He isn't hurt, tired, or out of shape. A Chiefs source assured me over text: 'It's such a long season, he will be there when it matters most. He started the same way last season.'"

Kelce is a four-time first-team All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler who has won three Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs since 2019. He amassed 1,000 or more yards each season from 2016-2022 and remained productive in 2023 (93 catches, 984 yards, five touchdowns).

But this year, Kelce is on pace for just 45 catches and 391 yards. Kelce is turning 35 on October 5, and he is in his 12th season, so one might naturally wonder whether age or the miles racked up over his eventual Hall of Fame career have caught up to him.

This is an unusually slow start for Kelce, who has only seen 12 targets through three games. He's still been on the field much more often than not, logging snap counts of 89 percent, 91 percent and 77 percent over the first three games, per Pro Football Reference .

Kelce missed the season opener last year with a bone bruise in his knee, but his start last year over his first three games (17 catches, 155 yards, two touchdowns) was much better than this year.

He did finish the season under 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in nearly a decade, although he came close at 984 yards and would have almost certainly hit the mark with one more game played, having missed two. But he did turn it up in the playoffs, catching 32 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns in four games.

The fact of the matter is that there has to be some level of concern here. Every athlete is susceptible to slow starts, but Kelce's numbers so far are so below his usual averages (and even far below par from last year) that one has to wonder what's going on. Perhaps, ultimately, his age and years in the league have caught up to the legend.

At the same time, we're only three games into the season. There's no need to panic for Kansas City, which has started 3-0. And with the calendar not even turned to October yet, Kelce may turn this around in short order. Plus, the playoffs matter the most, and if Kelce shines there again, his regular-season concerns will be long forgotten.