Travis Kelce has been ruled out of the Chiefs’ regular season finale, joining Patrick Mahomes on the sidelines for Sunday’s game against the L.A. Chargers, as he will miss out on an eighth consecutive season of 1,000-plus receiving yards.
The team’s update came roughly three hours before this weekend’s game at SoFi Stadium, with Chiefs head coach Andy Reid deciding to rest his starting signal-caller being listed as the official reason for the two-time Super Bowl champion’s omission. Kelce only needs 16 receiving yards against the Chargers to extend his club record and NFL record for a tight end with his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season. If he gets there on Sunday, then it is more likely to be thanks to a pass from Chiefs backup QB Blaine Gabbert, than anyone else. Gabbert will start for the first time in the NFL since 2018, back when he was on the Tennessee Titans.
It will also be the veteran’s 49th start of his career. Gabbert, who has played for six teams in 12 seasons, said he doesn’t expect many changes with him running the offense. ‘We run coach [Andy] Reid’s offense, and ultimately, that’s what we’re going to run. Every quarterback is different, every quarterback does things differently, some things better than others et cetera, et cetera,’ Gabbert said. ‘We’re just going to run our offense. Hopefully throw to the open guy, run the ball well and score some points.’
Along with Mahomes, the Chiefs could rest several other key players on Sunday, and potentially cost them some significant milestones. Besides Kelce, wide receiver Rashee Rice needs 58 yards receiving to break Dwayne Bowe’s franchise rookie record. And defensive tackle Chris Jones needs a half-sack to trigger a $1.25 million bonus for reaching 10 on the season.
