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He spent the offseason getting in the best shape possible for football but when the Kansas City Chiefs' NFL season started on the field, Travis Kelce has claimed he wasn't ready for it.
It had a dire consequence, with Kelce running into teammate Xavier Worthy in a brutal collision that ruled the star wide receiver out of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers after just three snaps. Worthy needed scans on a shoulder injury, the extent of which is still unclear but there were fears he had dislocated it.
Kelce took accountability for what happened in his first comments about Friday's game in Brazil on his New Heights podcast.
'It was a cool experience outside of us not getting off on the right foot,' he said of the trip. 'I'll take the most accountability myself, I wasn't ready that first drive. I ran into one of my guys and offed him out of the game.
'I literally took one of my players out. That's one of the most frustrating parts. It's hard to get your juices back going knowing that you just hurt a guy.'
Kelce's brother and co-host Jason said the collision was 'jarring' on Travis's part, who added: 'I'm supposed to be running my route for Worthy. It's frustrating for me. I was kind of trying to set up my guy to get in position and it all kind of happened pretty quick.
Travis Kelce says he wasn't ready at the start of Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers
Kelce ran into teammate Xavier Worthy, who sustained a potentially major shoulder injury
'I've just got to be better, man. I'm 13 years in the league, there's no excuse for me running into my own guys like that. Worthy had his guy beat, we're out the gate and the game starts completely different.'
Kelce, 35, admitted he didn't even know how quickly Worthy will be back. The Chiefs have been coy over precisely what the issue is. Head coach Andy Reid simply said Worthy is 'day to day' in his recovery, with a rematch against Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles coming on Sunday.
'I'm not sure where he exactly he is in terms of health-wise but I am hoping we get him back as fast as possible because he means so much to this team,' Kelce added.
'He is going to take the league by storm when he gets back, he is one of our best players.
'I run into him and all of a sudden, one of the biggest pieces of the gameplan is out of the game. One of the fastest guys in the league - and speed kills in this league - and now they don't have to worry about that.
'I owe my guy big time. X knows it. I felt like s***. I could barely even f***ing play the rest of that first half but we geared it up once I found that he was in better spirits than I imagined at halftime.'
Kelce spent the offseason getting in the best condition possible for the 2025 NFL campaign
The Chiefs lost 27-21 to the Chargers, an AFC West divisional rival. Kelce scored a touchdown in the game and finished with two receptions for 47 yards.
Intriguingly, Kelce made no comment about being smacked in the helmet by Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart.
Tart avoided an ejection, controversially, because he hit out at Kelce with an open fist. The Chiefs tight end didn't react with any anger at Tart, instead turning to the referee to ask if he saw what happened.
In the days after the game, Tart taunted Kelce by writing on Instagram about being 'too Swift' in the game, an obvious reference to his fiancee Taylor Swift.
