When Patrick Mahomes met Travis Kelce for the first time, he wasn’t just amazed, but also taken aback for two specific reasons. “I’d never seen a guy that tall be able to move like that,” the QB had said, visibly impressed. But, soon enough, he realized that wasn’t the entirety of what set the tight end apart. Mahomes recalled that one spring day in 2017, when he was barely a week old within Andy Reid’s system. Kelce had invited him and his wife, Brittany, to a Kansas City Royals game—a fateful day that served as the inception for the best pass-catch combination of their time.

“We were having a great time and that’s kind of built part of the relationship that we have today,” the signal caller reminisced. Unfortunately, that very “relationship” seems to be under threat lately. As things stand, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback might be shedding off his old self. And before you guess, it’s not an effort at reinvention or a deteriorating friendship, but perhaps a realization about the need of the hour. With Kelce’s future clouded with uncertainty, Mahomes might be aware he’ll need to find another top target soon. Did we just get a mini trailer of that? Well, judge for yourselves after reading further.

First, let’s set the stage for you… Amid the sweltering July heat, the Chiefs had just arrived for training camp, getting ready for a 7-on-7 period. On the opening play, Patrick Mahomes took his usual three-step drop from the shotgun. In the middle of the field, his most trusted tight end, Travis Kelce, was ready after running a short route. The QB, however, didn’t even glance at his longtime top target. Instead, he went for a deep strike that traveled 40 yards, over cornerback Jaylen Watson, to go into wide receiver Xavier Worthy’s hands. The pass was perfect, the audience excitedly cheering. Yet, an uneasiness settled into those who really noticed.

Well, looks like Mahomes might be subtly changing his tactic. Stats show exactly why he needs to.

While the Chiefs’ tight end brought in 823 receiving yards in 16 games, leading the team last season, it was also his lowest since 2013 as a rookie. In 2023, Kelce’s 984 receiving yards and five TDs were also a noted drop from his averages of 1,289 yards and 9.4 TDs over the previous five seasons catching passes from Mahomes. What’s the alternative? As Sports Illustrated‘s Dominic Minchella noted, “Not to say that Kelce isn’t capable of the workload, but it just might be time to start weaving the attention away from him and make his receptions that much more special. Wide receiver Xavier Worthy is a strong candidate to take over that type of workload.”

“As long as he stays healthy, it’s reasonable to believe that he will become Mahomes’ new No. 1 receiving option,” A to Z Sports‘ Nick Roesch, on the other hand, noted. This comes amid the Kelce clan quite openly discussing retirement. In January this year, ahead of Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIX clash vs the Philadelphia Eagles, Jason Kelce had noted, “I’m kinda torn. I wanna be there for the Eagles, I also wanna be there for my brother, I don’t know how many more he has.” Then, in December last year after a game vs the Cleveland Browns in Ohio, Travis had mentioned, “I don’t know if it’s the last time I’ll ever play in Cleveland, but it kinda felt like I was just giving it one last hurrah before I’m done because I’ve only played there twice in 12 years.” No wonder Worthy is touted to rise to the top.

But if you ask the quarterback himself, his reasoning for targeting the WR was completely different.“I wante͏d to up͏ my mentality,” Mahomes explain͏ed about hi͏s camp approach to ESPN. “Sometime͏s͏ y͏o͏u get͏ to cam͏p, and ͏you just w͏ant to g͏o ͏out͏ ͏there͏ and dominate the d͏ay.͏ I want͏ to do͏min͏a͏te every si͏ngle rep. No day͏s off. ͏You have to ge͏t better and better ͏e͏very day.” How much truth there is to this? We’ll know soon enough.

But till then, fans of the QB-tight end duo can rejoice knowing that…

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are set for an extended preseason debut

Kansas City’s stunning 33-16 collapse against Seattle created an unexpected silver lining for frustrated Chiefs fans. The lopsided preseason loss forced Andy Reid’s hand, pushing the coach to finally unleash his star players against Chicago after keeping them wrapped in protective cotton through two meaningless games.

Reid’s players’ injury concerns multiplied after five players got hurt during the Seattle disaster, including rookie defensive back Nohl Williams. Perhaps the mounting casualties made the coach realize his depth chart needed serious evaluation before September’s regular-season opener. More importantly, maybe it convinced him that his starters required actual game reps to shake off rust. “The ones are going to get some time against the Bears,” Reid confirmed during his radio appearance, finally giving Chiefs Kingdom what they’ve been demanding. Mahomes and Kelce will step onto the field for extended action, ending their preseason exile that had fans questioning the team’s preparation strategy.

Mahomes expressed genuine excitement about increased playing time after being limited to just three snaps against the Arizona Cardinals. “Hopefully [it will be after this week],” Mahomes told Up & Adams about meaningful preseason participation. “We’ll see. I always let Coach Reid make the decisions, but I’ll be out there at some point in this preseason and hopefully get a couple more drives.”

Looks like Seattle’s blowout victory inadvertently solved Kansas City’s biggest preseason dilemma by forcing Reid to abandon his ultra-conservative approach.