Travis Kelce has plenty of respect for Cleveland Browns’ resurgence

This weekend, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry held his spring softball game featuring various celebrities for charity at Classic Park. It brought together loads of Browns legends and current stars alongside others with ties to the team or area—including one of the most well-known players on the Kansas City Chiefs in tight end Travis Kelce.

Kelce grew up watching and rooting for the Cleveland Browns, and he’s never been afraid to express his pride for the region. He was born and raised in Cleveland Heights before heading off to the University of Cincinnati to play college football, and even now, Kelce’s own charitable foundation—87 and Running—remains committed to making a local impact, especially with underserved children, in both Kansas City and Cleveland.

Over the weekend, Kelce’s excitement for the Cleveland area in general has grown to include the competing franchise and Landry’s employer—the Browns—as they’ve turned the roster into what Kelce called “a legit contender” over the weekend. In fact, Kelce gave the Browns quite a bit of credit for the season ahead.

"“Baker [Mayfield] and the gang have upped the ante, made this team an unbelievable team and a team you have to prepare for and take serious. I think that moving forward without a doubt, I can see a lot more playoff games between us, and I’ll just take it one day at a time and hope for it. I think the Browns and Chiefs are definitely neck and neck.”"

Travis Kelce thinks the Browns are a contender for ’21.

The good news for fans of both sides is that the ’21 season kicks off with a matchup between these two AFC powers. The Chiefs host the visiting Browns on September 12 for their Week 1 matchup in a game that could end up meaning quite a bit down the stretch in a tough 17-game season. The Browns made the postseason last year but lost to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round.

Since then, the Browns have drafted Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Greg Newsome for their defense, and signed Jadeveon Clowney and Malik Jackson to their front line. Troy Hill and Josh Johnson are going to be solid contributors to the secondary as free agents as well, which means the defense should look quite a bit different from the unit the Chiefs faced last winter.

Still the AFC runs through Kansas City and the Browns certainly know that much. The Chiefs have hosted three consecutive AFC Championship games and won two in a row. The Chiefs are on the verge of creating a new dynasty in the league, or at least squeezing any real hope out of any team in the AFC with another win in ’21.

However, one member of the Chiefs believes the Browns are legitimate threats for the present and near future. It will be interesting to see whether the next game between them proves him right.