Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, a game-time decision, reportedly pleading to play vs. Lions despite knee injury

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will be without their No. 1 offensive weapon when they kick off the 2023 regular season against the Detroit Lions on Thursday night, as star tight end Travis Kelce is not playing as he’s among the players listed on the team’s inactive list. 

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Kelce hyperextended his knee in practice, but NFL Media reported that the tight end is dealing with a bone bruise — which is not expected to hold him out long-term. The Chiefs listed Kelce as questionable for Week 1 after he did not practice Wednesday.

Kelce being ruled out gives this Chiefs wide receiving corps quite an opportunity. Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Rashee Rice, Richie James, Justyn Ross and Justin Watson are all fighting for touches in this offense, and without Mahomes’ solidified No. 1 pass catcher, it should be wide open. Noah Gray and Blake Bell are listed as Kelce’s backups at tight end. The Chiefs also elevated tight end Matt Bushman from the practice squad on Thursday afternoon. 

Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL, and is coming off of a campaign in which he caught a career-high 110 passes for 1,338 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns while the Chiefs returned to their place atop the NFL world with a Super Bowl LVII victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. In that matchup, Kelce became the first tight end in NFL history to lead the Super Bowl victor in receiving yards twice, recording six receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown. 

Kelce hasn’t missed a game due to injury since his rookie season in 2013, where he played just one professional snap before a knee injury forced him to miss the remainder of the year. The 33-year-old has led Kansas City in receiving in three out of the last four seasons. 

Kelce can become the seventh player in NFL history to record eight straight seasons with 1,000 receiving yards this year, but will have to accomplish this feat in 16 games instead of 17.