Kansas City Chiefs taking a major risk with Travis Kelce in Week 18

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. While Kansas City itself doesn't have much to gain from their final regular-season game, Kelce will be playing for history.

“I know Coach [Andy] Reid is gonna do what’s best for the time and right now I’m not quite sure exactly how it’s gonna play out [and] if guys are gonna sit [on the bench], what guys are gonna get elevated,” Kelce said. “It’s really going depend on who’s on your roster and how many guys you can deactivate and still put together a good team and have a full squad ready to go.”

With just 16 receiving yards, Kelce can extend his streak of 1,000-yard seasons to eight, adding yet another impressive statistic to his Hall-of-Fame resume. No other tight end has recorded more than two-straight 1,000-yard seasons, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Kansas City Chiefs are taking a risk with Travis Kelce, and they know it

The Chiefs wide receivers have enough issues getting open with Kelce on the field, let alone without him. Considering Kelce is getting up there in years (he's 34), Reid must have a lot of trust in his tight end to avoid injury in limited playing time. Patrick Mahomes will not be on the field to help.

When asked about playing Kelce earlier this week, Reid merely responded with "we'll see" without showing his hand.

Again, the Chiefs likely will not improve their playoff positioning with a win. Kansas City struggled down the stretch, losing three out of their last five games. While a victory over the Chargers with backup Blaine Gabbert could inspire some confidence, it should not come at the risk of injury to key players, including Kelce.

Perhaps Reid has a trick up his sleeve to get Kelce the ball in space early. If so, expect the star TE to be pulled rather quickly afterward.