While most NFL teams have rested their starters ahead of the 2024 season, the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are one of the few who have opted to play their first-stringers. Travis Kelce happens to be one star who has suited up for the first two preseason games.
With one more game left ahead of their Sept. 5 opener against the Baltimore Ravens, it’s time to dive in on whether we’ll see the All-Pro tight end one more time this August.
Details Emerge on Travis Kelce’s Thursday Status
Kelce’s Super Bowl-winning head coach Andy Reid has been at the forefront behind the decision to play the TE and the other starters for the preseason, albeit in limited action. Does this mean Kelce will officially wear his shoulder pads and helmet and help lead the Chiefs’ offense for Thursday’s contest against the Chicago Bears?
This preseason finale comes with high intrigue with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams emerging as an August star. However, for fans expecting star power on the field for this battle, Reid reached his decision on Monday.
“As far as the rotation goes for the Bears, I’ll probably sit the starters the way it looks right now, and we’ll have the other guys get out there and play,” he told reporters. “We’ll just see how that goes, repetition-wise.”
These words point to Kelce wearing street clothes on the sidelines as his Chiefs tangle with the Bears. It’ll also mean K.C. will attempt to avoid a 0-3 preseason without Kelce leading the TE room.
But with Kelce not anticipated to play, who are the remaining tight ends ahead of Thursday night’s contest?
Looking at the Other TE Options for the Chiefs
While he’s the big-name star in the room, Kelce happens to be one of six tight ends at the Chiefs’ disposal ahead of the regular season. Who else comprises this room?
One option is the second-oldest TE in the room, Irv Smith Jr., who’s eight years younger than the 34-year-old three-time Super Bowl winner. Smith, though, is a newcomer to the back-to-back champs as a free agent via the Cincinnati Bengals. Smith has caught 109 career passes for 973 yards with 10 touchdowns.
Against the Detroit Lions, Smith snatched two passes for only 11 yards in the 24-23 loss. His father played TE from 1993 to 1999 with the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, and Cleveland Browns.
Noah Gray is another veteran the Chiefs can turn to in Kelce’s absence. Gray has played his entire career with K.C., including owning back-to-back championship rings. He’s caught 63 passes for 640 yards and has scored four times in his career from 2021 to 2023. Gray even gives the Chiefs a long-snapper option, as he snapped the football before Harrison Butker’s 56-yard field goal in the second quarter against Detroit.
But the rest of the TE options are all first-year NFL players. Jared Wiley joined the Chiefs as a fourth-round pick out of TCU in the 2024 NFL Draft. Wiley was lauded for his “top-notch hand-eye coordination and body control” on his catches by Pro Football Network Analyst Derek Tate.
Wiley isn’t the only 6’6″ newcomer joining Kelce. Fellow 6’6″ rookie Baylor Cupp is another new guy, though Cupp comes via Patrick Mahomes’ alma mater, Texas Tech. He caught a 12-yard pass in the loss to the Lions and comes to the NFL as an undrafted rookie.
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Geor’Quarius Spivey rounds out the rest of the Chiefs’ TE room. Spivey started as a teammate of Gray in Fort Worth with the Horned Frogs before finishing his college career with Mississippi State — although he was denied an NCAA transfer waiver and never caught a pass for the Bulldogs in 2023. Spivey arrived three weeks ago in K.C. following the injury to Izaiah Gathings.
With Kelce not expected to play, Reid and the Chiefs can utilize Thursday to find out who will back up the nine-time Pro Bowler and solidify the rest of the team’s 2024 TE room.
