Travis Kelce says Patrick Mahomes is ‘family now’ to him
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce joined the Arrowhead Addict Podcast and talked about Patrick Mahomes, why he wears No. 87 and more.
Travis Kelce is an all-time great. He knows it, even if he won’t come right out and say it.
On Sunday, Kelce leaped over Rob Gronkowski to become fifth all-time in receiving yardage for a tight end in NFL history. Barring injury, he’ll eclipse 10,000 yards this year and likely move past Hall of Fame Shannon Sharpe for fourth place on the list.
On Wednesday, Kelce joined the Arrowhead Addict Podcast and spoke with FanSided NFL reporter Matt Verderame about the milestone, and whether he believes he’s the greatest tight end to ever play.
“Without telling anybody that I’m the best, I do feel like I bring something to the table that people haven’t seen in the NFL, and I’ll leave it at that,” Kelce said. “I don’t like to brag or talk who’s better, here or there, because it’s such a team sport, that it’s hard to point out somebody’s individual success, or compared somebody to another player.”
Kelce also talked about his relationship with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, which began when Kansas City took the signal-caller 10th-overall out of Texas Tech in then 2017 NFL Draft. Since then, Mahomes became the starter in 2018 and has led Kansas City to a pair of Super Bowl appearances including a championship in ’19.
Travis Kelce says Patrick Mahomes is family to him
“To be honest, it’s been very genuine,” Kelce said. “It’s been an absolute blast to get to know Pat, his family and all of his friends since he’s been in the league. I can honestly say I’m close enough to where Pat is family now, man. I know everybody in his life and he knows everybody in mine. It’s been a cool relationship to build both professionally on the field and as well as off the field.”
Kelce, who is working with his brother, Jason, on a new podcast entitled New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, stated he wears No. 87 because that’s the year his older sibling was born. Kelce believes Jason is the reason he plays in the NFL after helping him through trying moments at the University of Cincinnati, before vouching for him when Kansas City head coach asked about the younger brother prior to Kelce being drafted to the Chiefs in 2013.
Now, with Jason’s career winding down and Travis’ still in full swing, there’s a possibility both will wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Kelce spoke exclusively with FanSided as part of his campaign with Tide, which is focused on getting people to wash their lucky jerseys. You can check out Kelce’s #LuckyJersey IG and TikTok posts as well.