It’s been quite a ride for Travis Kelce and the Chiefs, who face off Saturday against the Texans with a berth to their seventh consecutive AFC Conference Championship game on the line.
Speculation that the star tight end will retire if the Chiefs three-peat has been mounting, and as the team warmed up on the field at Arrowhead Stadium ahead of the divisional round contest, ESPN broadcaster Scott Van Pelt invited Travis’ brother, Jason, to reflect on all his sibling has accomplished and what’s still left to prove.
“If [Travis] isn’t satisfied yet, I don’t know that he’s ever going to be,” Jason quipped.
“Maybe that is the answer,” Van Pelt responded.
“You’ve seen the whole career arc … and I just couldn’t be more proud of where he is now — the leader he is. You can see how much the team gravitates towards him and how he’s really embraced that role. He’s also got a fantastic beard, which I’m really proud of,” Jason said.
The beard, much like the career, blossomed in time.
Travis, a third-round pick by the Chiefs in 2013, graded as the second- or third-best tight end in his draft class, NFL.com reported at the time.
Scouts noted his skills as a run-blocker but expressed concern over the fact that he had just one legitimate season of production in college.
“He isn’t a tremendous athlete, but he does a lot of things very well,” reads one report, per NFL.com.
Now over a decade later, it’s safe to say that everything before the comma can be written off.
