3) Travis Kelce believes his production might have “slipped” with “more focus” on his opportunities as an entertainer.
Taylor Swift is the greatest thing that has happened to the NFL since Tim Tebow. No, I will not be explaining any further. But for all Tay-Tay’s powers, it seems there will always be those pushing the narrative that she’s somehow to blame when her pass-catching beau struggles on the field or when his team gets smoked in the Super Bowl. Forget Kansas City’s 15-2 regular season and a berth in a third straight Big Game. They’ll say the reason Kelce and the Chiefs got poleaxed by the Eagles was because he was too busy cavorting on stage during a pop star’s world tour.
While Kelce himself didn’t put any blame on Swift in the comments published by GQ, he probably isn’t doing anything to quiet the narrative by suggesting that maybe he was a teensy bit distracted by his recently skyrocketed Q rating. After all, these days it’s hard to avoid seeing one Kelce or another podcasting, pitching products, or portraying poltergeists.
I can’t imagine the Chiefs loved hearing that analysis after one of the least productive seasons of his career. Good news! I’m here to offer a much simpler explanation: Maybe Kelce is just declining.
There’s no shame in that. I’m Pull-a-Muscle-In-My-Neck-While-Sneezing years old. I get it. Father Time eventually walks all of us down. According to Next Gen Stats, Kelce’s average speed, burst score and percentage of yards after the catch were all the lowest marks he’s posted in the past five seasons. Saying you’re more focused on the day job feels like a way to shrug off a down year. But it’s more likely that Kelce is just in his Getting Old Era.
(Please don’t come after me, Swifties.)