After missing Week 16 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has finally tested negative for the coronavirus enough to return from the team’s COVID reserve list on Wednesday, per Ian Rapoport. That should give the team’s offense a nice boost as they’re tasked with keeping in step with the Cincinnati Bengals high-powered offense in Week 17.
Chiefs Kingdom was a bit worried about life without Kelce in the last week given his ongoing importance in the team’s offensive plans. As the best tight end in the game, there’s simply no replacing Kelce for the Chiefs no matter who they have behind him.
That said, it was interesting to see the Chiefs be able to move the chains with such ease without Kelce against Pittsburgh, and it’s especially noteworthy since they also only went to Tyreek Hill for two catches and 19 total yards as well.
The Chiefs welcomed back Travis Kelce from the COVID reserve list on Wednesday.
That’s not to say that Kelce is any less important than he was before. It’s just nice to see the Chiefs prove they are more talented at the skill positions than most fans give them credit for.
Beyond the return of Kelce, the Chiefs also recently welcomed back other key performers like right tackle Lucas Niang and rookie linebacker Nick Bolton.
Kelce is in the middle of another Pro Bowl season and has extended his own NFL record of most consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards or more with six. With two games left to play, Kelce is already at 83 catches for 1,066 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2021.