Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirms suspicions about TE Travis Kelce’s outlook for Week 18’s tilt with Las Vegas Raiders
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid says Travis Kelce will play in Week 18 and so will some others starters.
The Kansas City Chiefs are getting ready to face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season, which will be the last game of the year for both clubs after they didn’t make the postseason.
The Raiders are in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, while the Chiefs could select a player inside the top 10 for the first time since taking LT Eric Fisher at No. 1 overall in 2013. With draft positioning on the line, Las Vegas has made its position clear with its plans for starters and key contributors. Will Kansas City opt to rest its starters in favor of something that more or less resembles a preseason Week 3 game? As it stands, the Chiefs seem set to have a few of their key starters active and playing in Week 18.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce will play in Week 18 against the Las Vegas Raiders in Allegiant Stadium
Asked whether Travis Kelce would play in the Week 18 game against the Raiders, Andy Reid gave a one-word answer that tells the whole story.
“Yes,” Reid said.
Some might take this as a signal that Kelce is playing in what could be the final game of his NFL career. The reality is that he’s just 57 yards away from surpassing former Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten to move into No. 2 all-time in career receiving yards by a tight end. Whether it’s his last game or not, that’s something that the franchise wants to give him a chance to achieve.
Does that mean he’ll play the whole game? They could dial up a Kelce-centric game plan and take him out once he gets the yardage he needs. Other starters might face the same fate as well.
Chiefs RG Trey Smith is unlikely to play, but Creed Humphrey and other starters might
Asked whether they’d prefer to give veterans some rest and play some younger guys, Chiefs HC Andy Reid suggested that only one starter, RG Trey Smith, was at risk of missing the game. It’s not necessarily a personnel-related decision, so much as a decision to shut down a player who has been battling through injuries this season.
“The only one I think is questionable there would be Trey (Smith),” Reid said “He kind of pushed through that ankle and and he would probably push through this game too, but I’m most likely going to hold him back a little bit, and so, just that thing’s been bugging on for a while, and I know that’d be probably the only one.”
Smith, of course, has battled a high and low ankle sprain over the past several weeks. Week 17’s Christmas Day game was his first back after suffering the injury.
Starting C Creed Humphrey, who has never missed a start during his NFL career and is up to 97 combined postseason and regular season starts, will likely get a chance to extend his streak. He’s not the only one playing for something like that, either. Several other veterans on the offensive side of the ball have something left to play for in Week 18.
Chiefs starters who could play in Week 18
- LG Kingsley Suamataia
- C Creed Humphrey
- TE Travis Kelce
- WR Xavier Worthy
- WR Hollywood Brown
- RB Isiah Pacheco
- DT Chris Jones
- LB Nick Bolton
- LB Drue Tranquill
- DE Mike Danna
- DE George Karlaftis
- S Bryan Cook
- S Chamarri Conner
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