Travis Kelce laments loss of JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is going to miss having JuJu Smith-Schuster around in ’23.

Every year, the teams that play in the Super Bowl find their rosters picked apart by other teams in free agency and the Kansas City Chiefs are no different. It’s all part of the game but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for those teammates left behind to hate to see their friends and former teammates leave for other teams. That’s the case these days for tight end Travis Kelce as he watches several players leave this offseason.

One player Kelce said he is going to miss—as well as the Chiefs—is JuJu Smith-Schuster. If that sounds surprising because he was only in K.C. for a single season, Kelce says that’s actually what made him such a great leader on offense.

On the latest episode of his podcast, New Heights, with his brother Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce spoke about losing players in free agency and said the following about Smith-Schuster:

“That hurt, man. Another guy that came in and was really the leader of that wide receiver group for us last year. For him to be a first-year guy on the team and kinda take the group and really just set the tone for work ethic and attention to detail and things like that for a lot of the young guys. Can’t say enough about what JuJu was for us last year.”

Smith-Schuster joined the Chiefs last offseason on a single-season, incentive-laden deal that allowed him to rebuild his free agent value before re-entering the market this spring. Smith-Schuster put up 78 catches for 933 yards and 3 touchdowns last season for the Chiefs before landing a new three-year deal with the New England Patriots earlier this month.