Rich: Don’t Write Off Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Just Yet

Some photos of Travis Kelce showed up this week, the internet did what the internet does, and now there is a conversation about whether the Chiefs tight end is finished.

Rich is not buying a word of it.

The photos, as they got described at the desk, showed a Kelce who looked, to borrow the Dan Patrick phrasing, a little bit big in the community. Somebody in the room offered that he looked like he enjoyed his honeymoon. Rich jumped on that one immediately, pointing out that nobody actually knows whether he went on one.

Then he did the math out loud, which is the part everyone skipped. That was ten days ago. Two weeks, maybe. And Rich had firsthand evidence, because he was there.

"I saw that man cut a rug," he said. "The amount of work that he went through that night celebrating. He closed his ring that night, and not just the one on his hand."

Rich also went to the source in the room, asking Chris, whose own wedding happened the same weekend, whether he dieted before the big day or just flat out stopped eating. About a week of it, Chris admitted.

That is the whole story. A guy got married, ate at his own wedding, and showed up to camp four weeks later carrying it. Rich's position is that the conclusion people jumped to from there is unserious.

"So he just put on all weight in the two, three weeks and everybody thinks that oh, he's done. He's finished. He doesn't have the same, you know. That's all I saw. He's done. He's finished. He's not focused. It's not about football for him anymore. You're out of your gourd, people."

Then the argument that actually matters, and the one that got waved off too fast in the room: Kelce technically had one of his better seasons in recent years.

The pushback came, and it was fair. Kelce had the fewest yards per game of his career last season. Rich did not dispute it. He countered with what he actually watched.

"There were times where he showed up and was one of their best weapons still."

The rest of the Chiefs conversation turned into the same standoff the show has been running for months. Rich says the league is better when the Chiefs are better, and says he has been proven correct. The room says being proven correct about one thing does not make him right about everything. Rich says the haters are popping. If you ain't got none, you ain't popping.

There was some actual football in there too. The Chiefs should be better with the run game, which Rich called a huge difference if it holds up. Mahomes played 15 games last season, which is worth remembering before anybody nominates him for Comeback Player of the Year.

And based on what Rich saw on that dance floor, he came away with more than one scouting report. Kittle is ready for week one. Same with Mahomes.

The line Rich landed on is the one to keep.

"Anyone that looks at him on a practice field and thinks he's no longer focused and he's out, that's idiotic."

He then acknowledged that if anybody knows idiotic, he is the king of it. He knows he keeps digging himself a hole here. He is still right.