Travis Kelce Declared a ‘Shell of Himself’ After Chiefs TE Took Out Xavier Worthy vs Chargers

Travis Kelce has a knack for keeping his name where it matters most: plastered across every timeline in America. One week, he’s making headlines for putting a ring on it, the next he’s back under the spotlight in the most chaotic way possible. From the engagement, to the Xavier Worthy hit, to now…this year probably being his last NFL season.

Yes, it was all guesswork before. Now it’s turning into a demand. And podcaster John Middlekauff let us in on why that might be the case. “Travis is a shell of himself. Now, maybe he gets it going again at the end of the season. But right now, week 1, you don’t see him being a factor when it’s like third and seven. When they were in their peak and Mahomes was putting up crazy numbers, Travis was an unstoppable force. He was one of my favourite players to watch. More than likely, this is the last year of his career,” he said.

You might think that this is an overly exaggerated narrative built up solely because of the Xavier Worthy hit. But no, fans have been calling him out since 2024. Kelce’s 2024 looks like a “Travis-lite” season on paper: 97 catches, 823 yards, 3 touchdowns. That’s a shadow of his peak years. A rather notable dip in yards per target and per catch, too.

Kelce still caught a ton of passes. 97 grabs are solid, sure. But his yards per catch dipped to 8.5, and the big plays and touchdowns just weren’t there like in past years. Why do the catches remain high when the yards per target and TDs don’t? Probably because he’s being schemed to get open rather than creating separation consistently.

And KC has been loading up on playmakers the last couple of offseasons. And of course, a rookie in Worthy who can turn heads. But with Rashee Rice suspended early in 2025, it puts extra pressure on Kelce and could force the Chiefs into some serious roster Tetris if his production slips.

And let’s be honest, the man’s 35 now. He’s on a statistical decline, who’s been getting called out for it for more than a year. Let’s not forget the engagement because that matters here. The rumours were already taking shape ever since that Instagram post. And they’ll keep turning more and more into reality every time Kelce puts the wrong foot forward. And vs the Chargers? He certainly did.

Travis Kelce vs the Chargers

Well, let’s talk about what ignited this conversation in the first place. Just ten minutes into the first quarter, Worthy got knocked out on a third-down pass…by Kelce. Worthy ran a crossing route right into Kelce, and it was Worthy who took the brunt of the hit. His shoulder slammed to the turf in what feels like a dislocated shoulder. And of course, Travis Kelce is at the center of the blame game.

But outside of that chaos? Kelce’s stat line read 2 catches for 47 yards and a 37-yard touchdown. Not…too bad. But not prime Kelce either. But the fans aren’t in the mood to give him credit. They’re owing the TD to Andy Reid‘s scheming rather than Kelce’s brilliance.

And John Middlekauff echoed that sentiment. “He does have the big TD catch, but to me that is Andy Reid’s schemed up play,” he said. There might be some truth to it, but you can’t not credit the TE for a touchdown. That RD wasn’t entirely Kelce, but it wasn’t entirely Reid either.

But you know what? Kelce is still Kelce. If he wants to ride this season out and finish with a ring, he very well can. The difference is the margin for error: in 2025, Chiefs fans might get fewer “dominant Kelce” evenings and more “clutch-schemed Kelce” moments.