Report: Kelce injury not believed to be long-term

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - After leaving Tuesday’s practice early with a hyperextended knee, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was listed as questionable to play Thursday night by head coach Andy Reid.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday afternoon that the injury puts Kelce’s status in doubt for ring night against the Detroit Lions.

“It’s not believed to be a long-term injury,” Rapoport posted on X. “They’ll wait for swelling to go down and go from there.”

The 34-year-old tight end has had as clean of a bill of health as one could wish for during an NFL career. In October of 2013, Kelce was placed on injured reserve, missing nearly his entire rookie season. Since his rookie season, Kelce has played in 144 of 147 possible games.

READ MORE: Travis Kelce hyperextends knee, status uncertain for Thursday night

In that span dating from 2014 to 2022, Kelce missed the 2017 and 2020 regular-season finales against Denver and the Chargers because the Chiefs elected to rest their starters. He also missed a December 2021 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to COVID.

On Monday, he told reporters his body felt great.

“I think Coach Reid does a great job of taking care of us throughout the year. I’ve been very fortunate that we have the best training staff in the league, so getting in the training room, doing a lot of rehab, and just making sure the body is tuned up,” Kelce attributed to his durability. “I’ve been very fortunate for that, my guy Alex Skacel that is my personal trainer. There’s a lot that goes into it. You just have to be professional, and you just have to be very fortunate. Actually, there’s a lot of fortune that goes into the game and staying healthy and being out there every week.

“It’s Week 1. Body is feeling as good as it’ll feel all year.”

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