Travis Kelce explains sitting out Chiefs' regular-season finale

Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce explained during the latest edition of the "New Heights" podcast why he sat out this past Sunday's regular-season finale at the Los Angeles Chargers that Kansas City ultimately won 13-12 to improve to 11-6 on the campaign. 

"It never felt right to go out there chasing stats," Kelce said, as shared by Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post. "I was kind of in and out of practice all week, for me to just jump in on game day and try to get 15, 16 yards, whatever it was — which is a lot harder than what you guys think it is. Even though I had a 100-something against the Chargers earlier that year, it’s hard to do that twice against a team. Yeah, it never felt right."

Kelce accumulated over 1,000 receiving yards each season from 2016 through the 2022 campaign and began last weekend with 984 yards for 2023. One of Kelce's trainers suggested in late December that the 34-year-old wasn't quite his dominant self throughout the ongoing season after a bone bruise/hyperextension in his knee sidelined Kelce in Week 1. 

"It had nothing to really do with my health," Kelce added about sitting for the Week 18 game. "It had nothing to really do with whether or not I was going to get injured. It was more so it just didn’t feel right and in my gut, just didn’t feel like I should be playing the game that way."

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, Travis' brother, joked during the show segment that a contract incentive may have convinced the tight end to play against the Chargers. Travis responded that he would've been "out there every single play" until he hit such a monetary incentive had that been the case. 

A rested Travis Kelce and the Chiefs host the 11-6 Miami Dolphins for a wild-card playoff showdown this coming Saturday night that is scheduled to be played in frigid conditions. As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Kansas City as a 4.5-point favorite against Miami.