Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce loves the ironman role

By MATT DERRICK
Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs coaches and athletic trainers occasionally force Travis Kelce to take a limited role in practice, just as they did this week as the team prepares to visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. It’s usually the last thing the 32-year-old tight end wants to do. There’s no doubt Kelce will take the field on Sunday against the Titans, yet his career hardly started as an NFL iron man. He played just one game as a rookie in 2013 without a catch before a microfracture knee surgery ended his season. Since then, Kelce has played 116 games while sitting out just twice – season finales in 2017 and 2020 when head coach Andy Reid rested his starters. He’s also made a catch in each of those 116 games.