Travis Kelce Has Historic Career Milestone Snapped by Sitting Out Chiefs’ Finale vs. Chargers

Coach Andy Reid decided to sit some of Kansas City’s star players on Sunday to keep them healthy for the playoffs.

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid decided to rest tight end Travis Kelce for Sunday’s regular-season finale vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. Sitting Kelce down keeps him ready for the playoffs, in which the Chiefs hold the No. 3 seed.

While this seems like the logical move so Kelce stays healthy, the decision will end one of his NFL tight end record streaks this season. By sitting out, he will not reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2015. Kelce finishes the 2023 season with 984 yards, and he was expected to hit the 1,000 mark on Sunday.

Travis Kelce has the most consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons by a tight end in NFL history :: Sam Greene/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK

His streak of hitting at least 1,000 receiving yards for the past seven seasons is the most in NFL history by a tight end. The next most is four consecutive seasons held in a three-way tie between Rob Gronkowski, Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten, according to StatMuse.

Despite Reid sitting Kelce on Sunday, the 34-year-old is expected to return for the Chiefs’ playoff run, which will begin next weekend with the wild-card round.

Kelce isn’t the only Chiefs star not playing in Sunday’s game. Reid also chose to sit quarterback Patrick Mahomes and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, to name a couple of major contributors.