Patrick Mahomes admitted Tuesday that he tried to ‘force’ teammate Travis Kelce to play vs. the Chargers so the tight end could keep up his 1k receiving yards streak.
Kelce had reached the mark in every season since 2016, and needed just 16 in the final game of the regular season to do so once again.
But with the Chiefs’ playoff spot already clinched entering Week 18, the pass catcher ultimately decided to sit out of the game and rest up for Kansas City’s Wild Card matchup vs. the Dolphins.
It’s the type of teammate he is – in all honesty I was trying to force him to play,’ Mahomes said on 610 Sports Radio.
‘…I knew he was going to try not to play and he wanted to be about the team and not about him I was trying to force him all the way up until game time and then he said: no that’s not who I am, I don’t want to play for those reasons. I want to get myself
The quarterback, who also sat out vs. the Chargers, added that they had even ran through some plays designed to get Kelce 1,000 yards without putting him in harm’s way ahead of the postseason.
‘We had done that – we had some plays for him that where we were going to get him open and stay away from contact and get him into spots where he can catch the ball and get down there. But that’s just the type of guy he is – he’s not going to go out there and play for those reasons.’
Kelce was limited in practice with a neck injury ahead of the game, though many assumed he would suit up vs. the Chargers to keep his record going.
He also missed Week 1 of the season with a bone bruise.
Mahomes continued, ‘A lot of guys would have gone out there and done it and that’s no slight towards them but the type of teammate T is, he couldn’t do that because he knew it wasn’t about him, it was about the team.’
To the quarterback’s point, Lions rookie tight end Sam LaPorta was hurt over the weekend with Detroit merely playing for playoff seeding.
He now looks unlikely to play the team’s wild card matchup vs. the Rams, with coach Dan Campbell saying he had an ‘outside shot’ to play after being carted off.
Kelce has had a whirlwind year off the field due to his romance with Taylor Swift, but on it, it’s been his worst season statistically in quite some time.
His 984 receiving yards were his lowest since 2015, and his five touchdowns were seven less than his tally from last regular season.
Still, the Dolphins will surely be wary of a well-rested Kelce this weekend.
