The Kansas City Chiefs might be missing Patrick Mahomes, but they still have Travis Kelce, and it’s really not a good time for the Tennessee Titans to be facing a Hall of Fame tight end.
The Titans (2-12) host the Chiefs (6-8) at Nissan Stadium on Dec. 21 (noon CT, CBS).
Mahomes’ ACL injury fundamentally changes the Chiefs‘ offense, and puts backup quarterback Gardner Minshew II in the unenviable position of having to replace the production of arguably the league’s best player. But Kelce, the 36-year-old stalwart tight end who’s only 200 yards shy of his eighth 1,000-yard season, is still chugging.
And now he draws an opponent who just put three safeties (Kevin Winston Jr., Xavier Woods, Mike Brown) on injured reserve, has its best linebacker (Cedric Gray) in the concussion protocol and has another safety (Amani Hooker) dealing with an illness.
Not the best circumstances.
“It’s the next-man-up mentality. You always say that,” Titans interim coach Mike McCoy said. “This is a great opportunity for other guys to step up in different roles. … It’s just a matter of everyone doing their jobs, and the key thing is communication on the back end. Everyone staying on the same page against a very talented football team that’s got a ton of explosive players. It’s not just Kelce.”
Kelce isn’t the Chiefs’ only threat, sure. But he’s the one most adept at doing damage against a team thin up the middle. When targeted against safeties this season, Kelce has caught 20 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Add in targets against middle linebackers and his tally bumps up to 37 catches, 499 yards and three touchdowns. That’s more than half his catches, more than 60% of his yardage and three of his five touchdowns coming against the two positions where the Titans are thinnest.
With Winston, Woods and Brown headed to injured reserve, the Titans added depth off the Detroit and Baltimore practice squads from Sanoussi Kane and Erick Hallett II. The Titans also return Hooker, Kendell Brooks and Jerrick Reed II.
If Gray isn’t able to clear the concussion protocol, the Titans’ inside linebacker options consist of fellow starter Cody Barton, reserve James Williams II and frequent special teams contributors Dorian Mausi and Joe Bachie. Veteran Kyzir White was recently released from the practice squad.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans injuries make Travis Kelce a threat, even minus Patrick Mahomes
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