Travis Kelce doesn’t sound as miserable as he looks.
And on Wednesday’s installment of his “New Heights” podcast, the Chiefs’ tight end claimed he had no concerns about his sluggish start amid the constant stream of discussions about his off-field endeavors and dedication to football.
“I’ve had a lot of catches in this league, man, I’m not worried about the catches and the yards, and all of that, I have the most fun when I get the ball thrown my way, I mean, who doesn’t?” Kelce said.
“It has everything to do with execution and just making sure we’re doing everything we can to win these football games, that’s always going to be the goal.”
Kelce, whose star soared to new heights over the last year as his high-profile romance with Taylor Swift intensified, has tallied eight receptions for 69 yards and zero touchdowns across three contests.
In the Chiefs’ prime-time win over the Falcons on Sunday, much of the attention centered on the nine-time Pro Bowler’s limited role (four receptions for 30 yards) and his downcast appearance on the bench.
“I think everyone saw my drop in the fourth quarter and the crucial third down, just trying to do too much before putting the ball away,” Kelce said of the 22-17 win over the Falcons. “That’s probably the biggest thing for me is making the play in big-time moments like that. I think with how defenses are playing us right now, I’m not really getting a lot of opportunities to make plays down the field, but not using that as an excuse. Moving forward, still trying to make sure I can help the team out in that regard knowing I’ve been that weapon for us in the past. Moving forward, everyone’s just tweaking their game in the right direction.”
The slump has since sparked an avalanche of criticism toward Kelce, 34, with sports media talking heads zoning in on his eventful offseason — ranging from international jet setting to on-screen roles — and where his focus lies.
Kelce, though, is keeping his focus on the Chiefs’ 3-0 start.
“Whatever it is, it’s football, baby. I’m not getting caught up in getting the targets and all that, I just want to have a successful offense and I think Pat [Mahomes] is doing a great job of finding the open guy and making the right decisions right now, and we have to keep finding, it’s a new offense, new players, new pieces and we’re just finding how to have success throughout the season,” Kelce said.
“As an offense, you’re going to go through these ups and downs throughout the season and you just want to make sure that you clean up all the mistakes, you’re making sure that you’re communicating so that everybody understands exactly where we’re going moving forward. Nobody does it better than coach [Andy] Reid and Pat Mahomes in that regard.”
Kelce’s remarks Wednesday follow comments made last week about how he used to get “really pissed off” over pedestrian outings.
“For whatever reason, these past two games it hasn’t gone that way for me and that’s football, man,” Kelce said on the Sept. 18 installment of the podcast. “I’m not about to sit here and get frustrated about it.”
The three-time Super Bowl champion added on that episode how he “stopped caring about stats about four or five years ago and just went out there and played free.”
“You think about it more play by play and what your job is on that specific play and I think just moving forward, how can I be better in those moments?” Kelce said. “Am I not getting out of my route fast enough? Whatever the situation may be, it’s all play-specific anyways, but you’re always looking at the film, looking at the scheme and trying to perfect it more and more each week.”
Through 15 games last year, Kelce recorded 93 receptions for 984 yards and five touchdowns.
It marked the first season since 2015 when he didn’t surpass 1,000 yards.
The Chiefs’ quest for a Super Bowl three-peat continues Sunday when they visit the Chargers (2-1) in Los Angeles.
