Travis Kelce is 36 and his numbers have been steadily dropping over the past four seasons, but Bill Simmons thinks he’s found another reason why the Kansas City Chiefs tight end might be in for a rough 2026 campaign.
Simmons, 56, was talking to Mina Kimes on the Wednesday, August 5 episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast” when he began explaining why he’s unsure of Patrick Mahomes’ prospects coming off of ACL surgery. He mentioned the team’s receiving corps, dismissing Kelce by saying, “Kelce just got married and is in his mid-30s.”
Kimes, 40, laughed at the thought that Kelce’s recent marriage to Taylor Swift would impact him on the field, pushing Simmons for an explanation. Though he seemed to be joking, he decided to expand.
“I don’t know if his eye is on the prize,” Simmons said. “He just had a wedding with 1,200 people. I don’t know if he cares about the season. Big wedding, I don’t know. I don’t know where his head’s at.”
All indications are that Kelce is in game shape and ready to begin the season when it kicks off with an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, August 15. Kelce’s coach, Andy Reid, praised his preparedness in an interview with NFL Network on Tuesday, August 4.
“He came back in good shape,” he said. “Everyone’s out there saying he’s got the dad body and all this stuff but he looks the same to me as he’s always looked. And just playing like crazy.”
Reid, 68, continued, “He’s doing a nice job with everything. He’s focused and ready to go, and I appreciate that. When you have someone who’s been here 14 years and wants to be out there every snap…he’s going to play and play hard and aggressive and not be stopped and that’s contagious.”
Kelce and Swift, 36, got married on July 3 in a ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which Reid attended. In the leadup to the wedding, Reid told reporters that Kelce remained focused on the upcoming season.
“Listen, he has been here most of the offseason if not the whole offseason. He’s been around. It is good to have him here,” he said. “He did the mandatory camp and [did] a nice job there. It’s good to have him back in and rolling.”
Reid added, “You see no distractions with that and the wedding. It’s like when I got married my wife did everything, so I just kinda followed her lead on it.”
