In 2023, Travis Kelce played the fewest snaps in a season since his second season of 2014. The tight end, though, still was a huge part of the Chiefs offense, playing 77 percent of the snaps in 15 games — 775 — and leading the team in targets (121), catches (93) and receiving yards (984).
Kelce, who turns 35 in October, has shown no signs of slowing down.
He said he “probably wouldn’t listen” to the Chiefs if they wanted to change his role as a concession to his age.
“You get more comfortable with your body,’' Kelce said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “You learn things from the mistakes you made in years past and things like that. You just constantly keep getting better and keep getting more aware of where your body’s at.
“I’m excited. I get to play another year of football [with a] fresh slate. Get to kind of prove to ourselves and Chiefs Kingdom that we’re one of the top dogs, and we can play at a high level.’'
Kelce has interests outside of football, including dating singer Taylor Swift, acting and doing a podcast with his brother, Jason. The New Heights podcast has a deal with Amazon’s Wondery worth $100 million.
Kelce, though, insists his passion for football remains as does his commitment to being the best at what he does. He made his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl last year, though he failed to reach 1,000 yards for the first time since 2015.
Kelce ranks fourth among tight ends in career receptions (907) and receiving yards (11,328) and only 49 catches and 514 yards from passing Antonio Gates for third behind Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten.
“I just love coming in here [and] I just love football and how it takes me away from life,’' Kelce said. “It gives me something I can feel genuinely happy about. I enjoy coming into the building, working on my craft, getting to understand a new game plan and perfecting that for the people around me. [It] gives me a purpose to kind of go about my day and to live my life and I have so much excitement doing it.
“I’m forever fortunate to be able to play as many games as I’ve played already in this league, and that’s why I really enjoy going out there every single day, even if it’s just a practice to really work on my craft. I know not everybody gets that same fortune in their career and I’m ready to rock Week 1 and I’m thankful for it.’'