ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – After an offseason filled with glitz and glamour of touring with his ultra-famous girlfriend, Taylor Swift, there’s no place quite like an Andy Reid training camp for Travis Kelce to kick back into pure football mode.
"This is my sanctuary,” the Kansas City Chiefs star tight end said after Saturday’s padded practice at Missouri Western State University.
“St. Joe, Year 12. That means I’ve spent just about an entire year of my life up here in the dorms. Everybody may say that is pretty grueling, but I enjoy it. There’s something about this place to get you ready every single year and I’m not going to lie, I got pretty excited as the time started counting down to get out here and get this thing rolling.”
Reid runs one of the NFL’s most physically demanding training camps, which include the signature marathon drives that test endurance and greeted the Chiefs when they conducted their first full-pads session on Friday.
Kelce, 34, has come to appreciate such an approach – and there’s no argument about the results that include three Super Bowl triumphs in the past five seasons and the challenge facing the Chiefs this season to become the first three-peat Super Bowl winner.
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“This is where it all starts,” Kelce said. “This is where you find out what you’re made of, how you sharpen the iron, how your guys practice, your practice habits, the attention to detail. And nobody does it better than Coach Reid.”
Kelce knows. As he advances in age, the wear-and-tear of his demanding occupation is undeniable. Sure, he was at his best when it mattered the most last season, dominating during the stretch run with 32 catches for 355 yards with 3 TDs during the four-game postseason. Yet after missing the season opener in 2023 with a bruised knee, he posted his fewest TDs (5) since 2019 and went into the playoffs with a six-game scoring drought.
“Last year was pretty taxing on my body,” he said. “I’ve had more snaps than a lot of guys, if not everybody in the NFL over the past five, six years, and I’m very prideful of that. But I know it has taken a toll on my body.
“So, it’s just making sure my body’s getting that rest and that ability to train harder, but able to withstand an entire 17 to 20-game season.”
Kelce said that he still relies on an extensive support staff of personal trainers and other experts, maintaining that little has changed with an approach that has enabled him to become one of the best tight ends in NFL history.
In other words, despite attending more than a dozen concerts on Swift’s international tour, his fundamentals are intact when it comes to his training regimen.
“Over every single season you find ways to get better at what works for you, what doesn’t, and you just want to amp it up every single year so that you keep finding ways to kind of climb that staircase of success. I would say I’m doing some things differently but nothing really in the grand scheme of things. Just putting my nose to the grinder.”
