Travis Kelce's transformation: Chiefs star trims down, gears up for another Super Bowl run
The thing is that there is less of the Chiefs tight end to see.
Kelce won't exactly cop to it — leave that to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who called him 'svelte' — but the four-time All-Pro trimmed down considerably since the end of last season, when he was last seen walking dejectedly off the turf at the Superdome in New Orleans, the Chiefs having been dismantled by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
The sting of the loss probably had a lot to do with his offseason work.
You see, some questioned whether the 40-22 defeat might drive the nearly 36-year-old Kelce into retirement, especially given the number of off-the-field pursuits vying for his time. There's the TV shows and films, including the new 'Happy Gilmore' flick, along with his popular podcast and his celebrity girlfriend, the pop superstar Taylor Swift.
Yet instead of calling it quits, Kelce seemed to redouble his efforts. He used the 'New Heights' podcast with his brother, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce, to quickly make it clear that he wasn't going anywhere. Then, apparently, he locked himself in the gym and went to work, trimming down to the kind of shape Kelce was in earlier in his career.
'He's svelte right now. He looks like he's 20,' Reid opined. 'He's doing a nice job. He's worked hard to get to this spot here.'
And avoid the spot he found himself in last year.
By almost any measure, the season Kelce had would have been deemed a success. He appeared in 16 regular-season games, caught 97 passes for 823 yards and three scores, and stepped back into a go-to role for the offense when the Chiefs lost wide receivers Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice to injuries for nearly the entire season.
Yet the measure Kelce uses has never been the same used by others. For one thing, the only thing that really matters to him is the Super Bowl, and the Chiefs came up short last season. For another, Kelce is accustomed to 1,000-yard seasons and double-digit touchdown passes, the kinds of numbers that have made him an almost certain first-ballot Hall of Famer.
'You know,' Kelce said Wednesday, after training camp was moved indoors as a storm swept through, 'football is the biggest driving forced I've ever had. I love coming out here and focusing on this and trying to get better for another run.'
Kelce has always called Missouri Western his 'sanctuary,' where he can get away from distractions and focus on football.
That hasn't changed as he prepares to enter his 13th season.
'You get out here to St. Joe,' Kelce said, 'and you're going to training camp, man, it just really signifies like, coming together. The chemistry, the culture that you need to have to keep getting better every single day, every single week throughout the year.
'I think you can really just focus in on your craft,' he said, 'and being the best. You care for the guys around you.'
That's evident in the way that Kelce has taken younger players under his guidance. Not just other tight ends, either, but anybody trying to get an edge, whether it be rookie left tackle Josh Simmons or first-year cornerback Nohl Williams.
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'Every year he just gets wiser and wiser,' fellow Chiefs tight end Noah Gray said. 'Watching him and his practice habits and the way he works always rubs off on us. When you've a leader like that, that continues to lead the room, continues to lead the team, it rubs off on everybody else and it makes a huge difference.'
Kelce balked when he was asked about his fondest training camp memory, given that this could well be his last — 'Ask me that when I retire,' he quipped. But there is nevertheless a distinct feeling that Kelce poured himself into his offseason, getting in the best shape he possibly could, so that he would have no regrets as Kansas City pursed another Super Bowl title.
'I mean, we got a long way to go. It's still, I think, close to a month until our first real game,' Kelce said. 'We got some time to work on our techniques and test it out on some other teams in preseason. But right now, it's just the work phase, man. I'm not really trying to evaluate anything. We're just all trying to get right, get into football shape, and get mentally tough.'
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