Travis Kelce is 35 years old and is currently the oldest tight end in the NFL. And that means the Chiefs don’t expect him to sustain quite the same level of play he was at during his prime. But they think they can get prime Kelce when they really need him.
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach says Kelce can still play like an elite tight end in the biggest moments.
“The great ones know how to find it,” Veach said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “They know where it’s buried, and they know how to access it. And [they can’t access it at that age week in and week out](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45599138/kansas-city-chiefs-not-lowering-expectations-travis-kelce), but when they need it, they know how to find it.”
Last year Kelce never had more than 100 receiving yards in any game of the regular season, then promptly had 117 yards in the Chiefs’ first playoff game.
“We’ve all seen it over the last few years,” Veach said. “There are periods throughout the season where you’re like, ‘This might be it.’ But when the games are the most important and the lights are the brightest, he finds it somewhere.”
The Chiefs are counting on Kelce to be able to find it for at least one more year.