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Patrick Mahomes Defends Travis Kelce Amid NFL Performance Criticism
Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes’ bromance is stronger than ever.
Days after Travis expressed disappointment over how his season was going and noted he felt on-the-field disconnect from his Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, he became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 12,000 career receiving yards. And after reaching the milestone during a key win over the Los Angeles Chargers Dec. 8, Patrick was sure to give Trav his flowers.
“He means the world to me, man,” the 29-year-old told reporters after the game. “Without getting emotional, I mean he’s a guy who has really kind of made me who I am in my career and a true leader on the football field.”
And he further detailed the ways Travis—who has been dating Taylor Swift since last year—is invaluable to more than just him. "Everybody’s security blanket, but someone that I can go to at any moment and he’s going to make a big play happen,” Patrick continued. “And as he’s done throughout his career, he’s never dropped off as far as his work ethic and the way he leads, and I think that’s super important.”
Ahead of the game, Travis, 35, referenced his dynamic with Patrick as he lamented the lower stats he had this season compared the last few years.
“Right now, for whatever reason this year, I just can’t find my way in the end zone,” Travis said on the Dec. 4 episode of his and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast. “I’m just not on the same page as Pat. It can get frustrating. It can get f--king frustrating. That’s for damn sure.”
But in true big brother fashion, Jason—who shares daughters Wyatt, 5, Elliotte, 3, Bennett, 21 months, and a fourth on the way with wife Kylie Kelce—reminded his little bro not to be so hard on himself.
“I know you hold yourself to a really high standard,” the older Kelce brother said. “I think you’re being a little hard on yourself.”
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images
And if Travis didn’t believe his brother, hopefully he believed Patrick—who shares daughter Sterling, 3, son Bronze, 2, and has a third baby on the way with wife Brittany Mahomes—when he called out the tight end’s unparalleled passion for the sport, as well as the pair’s unmatched chemistry on the field.
“He’s the hardest working dude on the team,” Patrick gushed. “He plays on the same wavelength that I do and it’s hard to do that. It takes guys time so it seems like from the first day I’ve kind of been on that same page with Trav. And then seeing him working everyday, I mean, everybody sees like the personality on the TV and stuff like that but you don’t see that everyday work ethic that he has.”
While it’s clear that the duo are in sync in more ways than one, Patrick shared how Travis is also an inspiration to him both on game day and in practice.
“I mean, he’s the guy that gets mad when they take him out of practice reps,” he continued. “That’s just the type of work ethic that he has and even for me, to come into the league, and have a superstar player and see him work like that—it kind of showed me that I’ll have to put that work in if I want to get to that level.”
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