Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce earned his third Super Bowl championship in five years this February, and despite speculation he would retire, he quickly announced he would be back in order to chase a three-peat.
Even though Kelce will turn 35 years of age on October 5, he doesn’t want his load to be diminished in order to preserve him — in fact, he said, “Wear and tear me, baby,” to the media when addressing his workload, per Ari Meirov.
#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce still wants a heavy workload entering his age-35 season: “Wear and tear me, baby. I’m ready for it, man. Put the load on me.”
pic.twitter.com/ymKoiryYKS— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 11, 2024
Playing tight end is a physically demanding position, as a big part of the job is blocking opposing defensive linemen and opening up avenues for teammates.
Kelce has been arguably the NFL’s best tight end for the last several years, and by winning three world championship rings, he has placed himself in the conversation as arguably the greatest ever to play the position.
However, in 2023, he saw his offensive production drop.
He went from 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022 to 984 yards and five touchdowns, and at least one reason was the lack of established wide receiver threats Kansas City had, which allowed opponents to key on him.
In order to try to rectify that situation, Kansas City took speedster wideout Xavier Worthy in the first round of April’s draft and brought in Marquise Brown as a free agent.
The Chiefs still look like the odds-on favorite to win the AFC this coming season, even if the San Francisco 49ers have edged them out as the favorites to win Super Bowl LIX.
