Mike Francesa said it would be “silly” for the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid not to question Travis Kelce’s dedication to football while he “strutting around the world” with his girlfriend Taylor Swift.
In the latest episode of the Mike Francesa Podcast, the host talked about how the Chiefs tight end’s performance has dramatically declined and suggested that he may be distracted by his fame in his 12th NFL season.
“As an organization and as a coach, you have to question how committed Kelce is to the sport right now,” Francesa said. “There’s a lot going on in his life. His life has radically changed. You see him in commercials, you see him in photo ops, you see that he’s very careful now about how he dresses … and where the paparazzi are and everything else.”
“It changed his life. And you wonder what role football and football preparation played in that.”
Kelce and Swift, both 34, began dating last summer and made their relationship public when they were seen holding hands together in New York City in October.
Since then, Kelce has starred in a number of commercials, made television appearances, and landed the cover of WSJ Magazine. He will host the upcoming series “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” on Amazon.
But Kelce was not as successful on the field at the start of the 2024 NFL season.
He now has eight catches for 69 yards and zero touchdowns before Week 4.
“When you see the safeties ripping the ball out of his hands in important situations, when you see him running listlessly, when you see him not playing a role play after play, it’s puzzling – but how much of that is his fault?” Francesa said.
“How much of that is due to his preparation and dedication? And is it fair to come full circle and mention that?”
“…At this stage of his career, you obviously wonder where he is with his commitment and preparation, because his performance has dropped dramatically. And it’s not just, ‘Oh, the Chiefs are moving on from Kelce.’ It’s more than that.
“…It’s extremely human. His life has changed. He now struts around the world with one of the most famous people in the world. His life is a photo opportunity.”
Francesa further explained that the Chiefs star’s big brother, Jason Kelce, waited until after his retirement from the NFL in March to focus on his opportunities off the field.
In August, the brothers signed a $100 million deal with Amazon to host their podcast “New Heights.”
“What he does is a topic of conversation. He does commercials with his brother, who is no longer in the sport. His brother can now focus on being a personality and doing commercials and appearances and the podcast because he’s not playing anymore,” Francesa said.
“But nobody expected (Travis) Kelce to stop playing. And right now he’s not playing at all and that raises very legitimate questions.”
Francesa added that it would be “crazy” to believe that Kelce’s life off the field hasn’t had an impact on his game, although he isn’t close enough to the situation to know that for sure.
“But how much does that mean to the Chiefs, who just keep finding a way (to win close games against the Ravens and Bengals),” he said.
Kelce was hardly tragic in the Chiefs’ third consecutive win of the season.
The three-time Super Bowl champion, who was limited in the passing game in Kansas City’s first two victories, finished the Chiefs’ 22-17 victory over the Falcons on Sunday night in Atlanta with four catches on five attempts for 30 yards.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is Kelce’s best friend off the field, explained that the nine-time Pro Bowler has not been used as often because teams have focused their coverage on Kelce.
“It’s crazy because teams still have an incredible amount of respect for Travis. It’s well-deserved,” Mahomes said after Sunday’s win over Atlanta. “We call a lot of plays for Travis and it’s like two or three people go to him. He understands – that’s the great thing about him: He wants to impact the game, but at the end of the day he wants to win.”
“I’m going to do my best to get the ball to him whenever he’s there, whenever he’s free. I think the more (sophomore wideout) Rashee (Rice) plays, the more we can run the football, the more we can get (receiver Xavier) Worthy involved. I think that will give Travis more room to play. People are putting a lot of emphasis on taking him away, and that gives other guys room to play.”
Kelce also talked about his slow start in his podcast “New Heights” after Week 2.
“I used to get really, really angry and almost lose it a lot of times when I wasn’t successful because I knew that’s what I was asking of myself and I just like to play the game with so much responsibility that it’s just hard for me to deal with mediocrity or statistics that reflect that,” Kelce said last Wednesday.
“For some reason, things haven’t been going well for me in the last two games, and that’s football, man. I’m not going to sit here and be upset about it.”
Kelce agreed to a contract extension with the Chiefs in April through 2025, making him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the contract is a two-year add-on to his current $34.25 million deal.
The Chiefs (3-0) will face the Chargers (2-1) in Los Angeles on September 29th.
