KC Chiefs' Andy Reid Reveals Why ‘Humble’ Travis Kelce Didn’t Play vs. Chargers

Kelce's 1,000-yard receiving streak ended on Sunday, and Reid provided some context as to why.

The Kansas City Chiefs rested some of their star players and routine starters alike on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was one of those players, as was tight end Travis Kelce. While the stakes were low for the former, the latter missed out on a truly special opportunity in Week 18.

By missing Sunday's game at SoFi Stadium, Kelce ended his 1,000-yard receiving streak at seven years. The future Hall of Famer was already at an NFL record for tight ends, but he needed just 16 yards to reach that mark for yet another season. Instead, he sat and watched from the sideline despite initial Sunday reports indicating that the Chiefs were ready to give him a chance to play.

According to head coach Andy Reid after the game, he was indeed prepared to let Kelce chase the accomplishment. Citing a desire to not be selfish, the 34-year-old tight end made the final call on being inactive for Week 18's contest. 

"Travis is a humble, humble guy," Reid said. "It's different because of the financial part of it with Chris (Jones). He didn't want to be selfish or come across as selfish — everyone, all the players wanted him to play but he just goes, 'You know what, I don't like the way it feels.' He's not into that and so he chose not to play. I completely understand it but that's him, most guys would have gone out a probably done it but he said, 'I've had a lot of records and this one here, I'm not going to do it this way.'"

Reid not only let Jones play against the Chargers, but he allowed his star defensive tackle to remain in the game far longer than originally planned. It's something Jones is grateful for and a very clear indicator that Reid likely would've given Kelce similar leeway to log his required receiving yardage total before getting removed from the game. Kelce passed on that, instead valuing rest in advance of the playoffs.

Now 11 seasons into his career, there isn't much that Kelce hasn't accomplished in his tenure with the Chiefs. He's a high-ranking staple on all-time tight end leaderboards for receiving yards, receptions, touchdowns and more despite trailing others like Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten by quite a few games. No tight end in league history averages more receiving yards per game than he does. Kelce's thousand-yard streak ending at seven seasons is a minor price to pay for a week off in his eyes; the next-closest is Greg Olsen with just three years. The record isn't in danger of being broken anytime soon.

In the days leading up to Week 18's matchup in Inglewood, there was plenty of discourse surrounding whether Kelce should or would play. Some wanted him to extend the run to eight, whereas others argued that ensuring better health for a potential Super Bowl run was more important. Kelce appeared to agree with the second sentiment, and that potential hardware means more to him than just about anything else at this point. Despite how easy it probably would've been to play a drive or two and get those 16 yards, it didn't feel right in his mind. Now, he'll hope that the short-term sacrifice pays off over the next handful of weeks. 

Early Numbers to Know as Chiefs vs. Dolphins Scene Is Set