04 January 2024 , 14:09
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The head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, Andy Reid, has not yet made up his mind if Travis Kelce will play in Week 18 against the Los Angeles Chargers. At age 34, Kelce needs only 16 yards for an eighth season with over 1000+ receiving yards, but there's only one game left.
Chiefs have confirmed QB Patrick Mahomes won't be playing this Sunday; backup Blaine Gabbert is starting instead. The last time a different quarterback started a regular game for the Chiefs was two years back against the Chargers, which involved Chad Henne.
Andy Reid had sat out Kelce and other starters during that game, though Kelce had by then reached 1,000+ yards. Asked whether reaching milestones was priority, Reid said at a press conference: "It depends on what the milestone is," and added: "We'll see how all that goes," on Kelce's upcoming 1,000-yard season, declaring the decision is "probably one-sided."
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READ MORE: Taylor Swift gets seal of approval from Chiefs heiress set to inherit £12.2 billionRashee Rice, a wide receiver, and Isiah Pacheco, a running back, are among others from the Chiefs close to their own records. Rice is 62 yards short of a 1,000-yard rookie season, while Pacheco needs just 65 more for his first 1,000-yard year.
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However, Reid shared that both players were being held out of Wednesday afternoon's practice to focus on rehabilitation and recovery. Rice is dealing with a hamstring injury, while Pacheco has a quad contusion.
Kelce has no known injury issues, and Gabbert spoke about the possibility of him playing. "If he wants to play, he'll play," the Week 18 starter said at the podium.
"If Coach Reid says have him rest, he's going to rest. Ultimately, that's on Coach Reid, but if we're out there, we're going to do our damn best to get him 17 yards. It means something to this organization."
Patrick Mahomes is already resting and Travis Kelce could also be sitting out the regular season finale (No credit)All that Reid has committed to at this stage is Mahomes resting and then said: "We'll rotate the other guys in as we go." Kelce will hope he sees the field long enough to get those final 16 yards.
The tight end will be keen to keep his streak alive in what has been a down year. Kelce is averaging a career-low yards per reception of 10.6 through 15 games. He has previously never dipped below 12.2. Failing to play would also equal the 2017 and 2020 seasons for his fewest games in a year.
This year's other absence was for the season opener against the Detroit Lions. He missed that game after hyperextending his knee two days earlier in the team's final full practice before the season began.
This was the first game he had to sit out due to injury since his rookie season ten years ago. The only other games he missed were two end-of-season matches in 2017 and 2020, and a game in December 2021 when he tested positive for COVID-19.
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