Chiefs HC Andy Reid on Travis Kelce's injury: 'He was honest with me'

The Kansas City Chiefs were without star TE Travis Kelce during their Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions. He suffered a bone bruise on his knee after hyperextending it during Tuesday's practice. There was plenty of speculation leading up to the Week 1 game, with even the most connected NFL insiders believing that Kelce would […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor

Sep 8, 2023 9:45 AM EDT

The Kansas City Chiefs were without star TE Travis Kelce during their Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions.

He suffered a bone bruise on his knee after hyperextending it during Tuesday's practice. There was plenty of speculation leading up to the Week 1 game, with even the most connected NFL insiders believing that Kelce would try to tough out the injury and play through it.

When push came to shove, Kelce was ruled out of the game and made inactive. During the course of the game, the veteran was spotted standing on the sideline and wearing a compression sleeve on his right leg. As it turns out, he wasn't close to playing in this game at all.

"It just wasn't feeling right," Chiefs HC Andy Reid said following the game. "So, I wasn't going to put him out there with that. And he was honest with me. You know, we talked. There was just not enough time there (to get him healthy)."

Reid said the team didn't alter the gameplan with Kelce ruled out, but praised the Lions for mixing their coverages up. It seemed to disrupt some of what they had planned without Kelce in the mix.

He certainly pushed back when asked if Kelce being out in Week 1 had a significant impact on the outcome of the game.

"No excuses at all," Reid said. "We've got guys that can play. We were right there to take care of business. They got us on special teams and continued the drive. They got us on the tipped ball. So, listen, it's unusual for the guys who dropped the ball to drop that ball. That's not what I've seen from them and I wouldn't expect them to do that. You do that, you take care of business there and you'll be alright."

During the Week 1 broadcast on NBC, sideline reporter Melissa Stark indicated that the Chiefs tested out Kelce's right knee on Thursday morning. He struggled with it in the pool. She said she was told that he, "had no power." She also said that the team was optimistic about his chances to play next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

We'll see how things go for No. 87 during the upcoming practice week.