Football analyst Todd McShay is blaming Travis Kelce’s offseason fun for his degrading performance on the field.
Kelce and Taylor Swift’s relationship has been making headlines since they started publically dating in the last NFL season, where his team, the Kansas City Chiefs emerged victorious at the Super Bowl. The 34-year-old’s off-season activities were heavily documented all year round, with lavish parties, events, commercials, worldwide tours, and a lot of time spent in front of the cameras.
Even though the Chiefs have secured a winning streak in their past three games of the current NFL season, Kelce’s performance has been underwhelming. He scored just 8 catches from 69 yards and has not scored a single touchdown yet. Compared to this, during his performance last year at this time, he had 17 receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns. This has alarmed football fans and professionals, specifically McShay, who is a former ESPN analyst, and now observes the performance of college football boys who go on to be pros later.
During his appearance on ‘The Ryen Russillo Podcast’ on Monday, McShay did not hold back while candidly discussing and analyzing the tight end’s current on-field performance. Speaking to Russillo, the sports commentator began by noting what he has been observing over the past three games of the season saying, “Every show I watch, every pregame show, halftime show, postgame show, weekday show, every broadcast I watch for the last few weeks, it’s like, are we not allowed to say that he’s out of shape?” suggesting that Kelce is not athletically in shape for the new season.
McShay continued drawing reference to Kelce’s off-season activities with his girlfriend Taylor Swift and their constant drinking and partying. He noted that while footballers can have fun during the off-season, they should get back into the mentality of their on-field practices as the season approaches.
The commentator said that Kelce had been “neglecting his football responsibilities” as a professional. He further noted, “Are we not allowed to say that he’s out of shape?” before adding, “That he’s been partying all offseason? That he’s been jet-setting around with the most famous person probably in the entire world?” referencing the billionaire pop star.
The football analyst then went on to point out that “he’s drinking [and] going to the U.S. Open and he’s got cocktails?” right after the Chiefs’ win over the Baltimore Ravens during the weekend. McShay noted that Kelce was drinking mid-season after his lackluster performance with the Ravens.
Speaking of the stark difference between the Super Bowl champion’s performance this season and last season, McShay explains that the footballer is out of shape. He even suggests taking “a picture from preseason 2022 and then taking a picture from preseason 2024, they’re barely the same human being.”
He contended the narrative that Kelce was getting doubled down by defenses, which may be a catalyst behind his degraded performance. McShay explained that this has been happening during his entire career, yet he still managed to qualify for the All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections, again pointing out that it was his current athletic condition that was causing issues. The only thing that has remained consistent with his career is the media coverage he is receiving and the respect, but “the athlete is not.”
The American television football analyst believes that the ‘New Heights’ podcast host still has time to make a comeback, and will do so due to his competitive spirit. He noted, “He’s one of the best to ever do it and he still finds a way to make a play or two here and there and shows up in some clutch moments, but he’s not the same guy right now.” McShay estimates that if Kelce makes an effort to get back into his athletic composure now, it will take time 8 to 10 weeks to make a full comeback.
Despite the candid analysis, the commentator clarifies stressing that he is not blaming the 14-times Grammy winner for Kelce’s current state. McShay noted, “I think Kelce’s doing more commercials and things, he’s been at more events, doing more things socially,” before adding, “It’s impossible to carry that schedule and still put in the same amount of time for football.”
However, Travis’ mom Donna Kelce defended her son’s slow start to the NFL season in her interview with People Magazine, saying that she is taking the negative comments about her younger son to heart. She justified his current performance blaming the “pressure that people are under, whether they’re athletes or professionals that are in front of the camera. And it’s just very difficult, there’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes.”
She further noted some of the on-field antics that contribute to a bad athletic day, saying, “You don’t realize how many times people are trying to keep you from catching the ball, or trying to trip you up or hit you… so it’s kinda hard when you’ve got people that are in your face 24/7.”
During the entirety of his off-season, Kelce had a jam-packed schedule. He globally hopped seven countries to support Swift during her Eras Tour, starred in Ryan Murphy’s new series “Grotesquerie” and landed a hosting gig on “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?”.