Travis Kelce suffers another career blow with Andy Reid facing Kansas City Chiefs bench decision

TRAVIS Kelce has been dealt a career setback, and head coach Andy Reid has to decide on his role for the Kansas City Chiefs’ upcoming season.

The 10-time NFL Pro Bowl tight end has been given a brutal ranking in a particular category.

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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid could have to make a decision regarding Travis Kelce’s playing time for the upcoming season[/caption]

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Kelce suffered a career-worst season in the 2024 campaign, which saw the Chiefs lose brutally in Super Bowl 59.

The 35-year-old put up stellar numbers for close to 10 years and consistently ranked as one of the top tight end picks in fantasy football drafts.

However, after being a No. 1 tight end entering last season, Kelce will not be a high-round draft selection due to his career lows in receiving yards (823) and touchdowns (3).

He finished as the No. 7 tight end in most fantasy leagues in the 2024 season.

So ESPN projects Kelce to be the sixth-best tight end in the NFL for this campaign.

The top three for the position are as follows: Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers, San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle, and Arizona Cardinals‘ Trey McBride.

Kelce is also behind Detroit Lions‘ Sam La Porta and Minnesota Vikings‘ TJ Hockenson in the fantasy football projections.

The three-time Super Bowl is listed ahead of the Cleveland Browns‘ David Njoku, the Baltimore Ravens‘ Mark Andrews, and the Denver Broncos’ Evan Engram.

Luckily for Kelce, fantasy football rankings have no bearing on his performance on the field.

The 13-year veteran appears to have shown up to Chiefs training camp in seemingly good shape.

Kelce said he was “down some weight” from the end of last season.

Unlike numerous tight ends listed near his projection, he enters the 2025 season without a clear disruptor from being the team’s go-to target.

Star wide receiver Rashee Rice is expected to be suspended for a chunk of games.

Second-year wideout Xavier Worthy recorded 59 receptions last campaign, still 48 less than Kelce.

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Kelce is coming off a disappointing 2024 season which saw the Chiefs lose 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59 in February[/caption]

The Chiefs’ backup tight ends, led by Noah Gray, haven’t overtaken Kelce in the depth chart.

But Reid could have the decision to play Gray, who is coming off a career-season, over Kelce if the latter tight end continues to be a letdown by his standards.

Still, Patrick Mahomes has consistenly looked to throw toward Kelce’s direction in games since arriving to the league in 2018.

Kansas City will look to bounce back and win its third Super Bowl title in four seasons.

The Chiefs will begin their season against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 on September 5 in Brazil.