“I never want the product to tail off,” Travis Kelce confessed last season. “I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.” It was a glimpse of self-doubt from a player who’s made dominance seem second nature in Kansas City. Yet as great as he’s played earlier (especially while racking up seven consecutive 1000-yard seasons), the level Kelce has held himself to has always been higher. But the past two years’ records are something that he didn’t expect from himself. The reason? Struggles! Struggles while juggling entertainment and football, per Kelce’s own words. But one Hall of Famer has something else to add on the tight end’s situation.

On Fully Loaded: The Podcast, NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter did not beat around the bush. “He’s going to have a great season. You’ll see that quickness come back, especially at that weight and his body won’t be as sore,” Carter predicted about Kelce, before pivoting to what he felt had gone wrong. “Now, the last couple of years, since he became a playboy, not as consistent, not as dedicated to the off-season training as he was before. I’ve known his trainer Andrew for 20 years, so Travis is on the right track.”

It was half praise, half tough love. Carter is predicting a bounce-back season while also accusing Travis Kelce of his off-field lifestyle being a culprit for his statistical decline. The “playboy” comment, while tongue-in-cheek, meant something. It was not so much about celebrity dating gossip as it was about the underlying changes that take place when a player is no longer grinding every day. It was as if his roster position hung in the balance.

Carter’s criticism resonated because many are on the same page. The Chiefs’ offense purrs best when Kelce’s body is unencumbered, his legs aren’t tired, and his offseason is spent solely focused on football. The stats are telling. Between 2016 and 2022, Travis Kelce had seven consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards, frequently being Patrick Mahomes’ go-to receiver in high-pressure situations.

The last two years? 984 yards in 2023 and 823 yards in 2024, his lowest yardage since 2014. His touchdown numbers fell from a career high of 12 in 2022 to merely three last year. Hence, Carter wasn’t guessing; the on-field decline matched Kelce’s increasing roster of off-field commitments. Hosting Saturday Night Live, guesting in Ryan Murphy’s Grotesquerie, filming Happy Gilmore 2, and co-hosting the New Heights podcast with his brother Jason, to boot, while dating Taylor Swift.

None of that is necessarily bad. Kelce deserves a full life outside of football. But Carter’s take was on balance. For the best athletes, especially in their mid-30s, the off-season is a valuable resource. Once that grind is diluted, even minimally, the margins in a game this quick can evaporate.

Travis Kelce’s wake-up call

If there is good news for Chiefs enthusiasts, it’s that Kelce appears to have gotten the message loud and clear. Both from Carter and from himself. “I just have such a motivation to show up this year for my guys,” he said to GQ. Still stinging from Kansas City’s Super Bowl defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. That hunger is precisely what Carter thinks will spur the comeback. To him, the veteran tight end has lost weight, regained quickness, and reverted to a training regimen closer to his prime days.

Kelce’s recognition that the last two years were “not to my standard” also reads as a mental refresh. He also added, “I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up,” referring to his ventures into acting, hosting, and other entertainment gigs. “I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”

Players who are able to look inward and adjust tend to play longer at an elite level. Consider Larry Fitzgerald or Tony Gonzalez, who modified their games as their bodies aged. Kelce’s ability in Andy Reid’s offense allows him the same freedom. But his advantage has always rested in the little things. Footwork on option routes, reading rotations of coverage during the play, and converting short gains into chunk plays after the catch.

And then there’s the Mahomes element. The Chiefs’ quarterback feeds on confidence, and Kelce is his on-field seer. If Kelce’s body breaks down the way Carter envisions, that rapport can sway close games and tip playoff series. In an AFC loaded with talent, that might be the difference between another Lombardi Trophy and an early flight home.

For the time being, the Chiefs’ season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on September 5 hangs over Kelce as his first opportunity to demonstrate that his renewal isn’t just hollow words. Carter’s candor was perhaps uncomfortable, but it was from a Hall of Famer who understood what it takes to remain great. If Kelce can produce the season Carter imagines. This period of “slacking off” could be seen as the catalyst that reawakened a dynasty.