“Continues to Be Amazing”: Andy Reid Hails Star TE Travis Kelce Amidst Retirement Contemplations

At 34 years of age, it’s safe to say that Travis Kelce has been through the majority of his career by now. And he has seen and gone through a lot too. Recently, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the Chiefs tight end went candid about the health toll that football has taken on him. He additionally revealed a shocking detail about his retirement thoughts.

But on the other hand, Kelce is just as effective on the field as ever. Despite all the noises surrounding his off-court life and the surprising number of surgeries he endured, one wouldn’t be able to tell if the TE was really bothered by any of those. Casually, head coach Andy Reid couldn’t help but praise him during the post-Raiders game press conference.

Andy Reid amazed with Travis Kelce

Reid himself could be an example of an age-defying performer. At 65 years of age, the HC has two Super Bowls to him and has the duty of managing arguably the most talented squad in the league, with whom he is the reigning champion. That’s why, Reid knows what it takes to be efficient at those ages and lauded Kelce on a similar note.

At the post-conference on Sunday, Reid was discussing the contributions of his all players in the Raiders game. He appreciated every single one of them for their efforts. But while mentioning Kelce, the HC couldn’t help but slip up a few extra words. “Kelce was just under, a 100 yards… and just continues to, you know, be amazing at his age”, he was impressed.

Kelce might be making people forget about his age with his performances, but his body often reminds him of its current condition. The Wall Street Journal chose Monday to release a new profile about the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, which includes insights about his love life and possible retirement. In the interview, Kelce stated that retirement was never far from his mind and he thinks about it “more than anyone could ever imagine.”

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Amid the contemplation, one may ask why he feels physically beaten up to even think about his retirement. The answer is hidden in the surprising number of his surgeries, and how he feels about those all these years later.

Travis Kelce still feels every single one of his 10 surgeries

Among the hundred other qualities, one quality that often goes under the radar about Kelce is his pain tolerance. The TE is extremely reliable and almost never unavailable, even if there are minor injuries lingering over. It was evident in the Vikings game earlier in the season when Kelce made a second-half appearance despite going out with ankle injury scares in halftime, just to come back and win the game for the Vikings.

But if the TE himself is to be believed, it was not a magic or miracle. Everything was just a demonstration of supreme pain tolerance. “That’s the only thing I’ve never really been open about: the discomfort, the pain, the lingering injuries”, Kelce talked about his continuous pains. “The 10 surgeries I’ve had… I still feel every single surgery to this day.”

While it might surprise you upon hearing that out of a possible 155 games since 2014, the TE has only missed 4 games to date, and only one being an injury concern; listening from Klece makes a rethink if he was really feeling 100% at those games. And that brings out even more respect for the TE at this stage of his career, exactly what Andy Reid himself resonated with following the Raiders match.

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