Travis Kelce has his eyes on the prize. Just before kickoff of the AFC Championship game in Baltimore on Sunday, the Chiefs tight end, 34, was spotted on the field for warmups with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, right near Ravens kicker Justin Tucker who had set up on the Chiefs side of the field.
NFL Network correspondent James Palmer shared a video of the scene on X (formerly Twitter) and reported that Kelce “told” Tucker that he “needed to move” so that Mahomes could warm up. Tucker didn’t, “so Kelce kicked his ball away and threw his helmet,” Palmer said. After that, Mahomes and Tucker were apparently “going at it” during warmups. “Mahomes keeps kicking Tucker’s holder away,” Palmer wrote in a post. Shortly after, several users on the app pointed out that Tucker was on the Chiefs side of the field during the tense pre-game moment.
Sports writer Al Scott replied to Palmer’s post, writing, “There’s absolutely zero reason Tucker needed to do his stretches right there. I’m not sure why people are acting like he’s a victim.” Another user wrote, “I mean yeah if my quarterback is right there you’re gonna have to move. You’re not gonna sit directly in front of him and stretch. Nah. This is mind games both ways. Tucker knows what he’s doing.” A handful of posts defended Tucker as the game is being played at the Ravens’ stadium. “It’s his home field he can do whatever he wants,” one fan wrote.
Swifties have joined in on the discourse, as one account dedicated to discussing Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift, joked, “Siri play You Need to Calm Down by Taylor Swift,” when the video of Kelce and Tucker made the rounds on social media. Swift, 34, arrived at M&T Bank Stadium with Brittany Mahomes and gal pal Keleigh Sperry. On Friday, Kelce answered questions about his rising fame during a Chiefs press conference and shared that he and Swift have discussed the public attention on their romance.
In response to a reporter who specifically asked Kelce if the topic has come up with Swift, the tight end said he and Swift have “talked about” managing privacy. “As long as we’re happy, we can’t listen to anything that’s outside noise,” Kelce said. “That’s all that matters.” “I brought this upon myself, and I do enjoy having fun with it all, and the biggest thing is making sure my focus is right here in this building,” Kelce told reporters during Friday’s presser.
