Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Speaks Out on Injury Scare

Story by

Paolo Songco

Fri, Oct 17, 2025 ·

3 min read

Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce had a season-best game with six receptions for 78 yards.
Kelce downplayed an injury, saying, “I got a Charley horse more than…my neck.”
He expressed frustration about failing to score after being tackled at the one-yard line.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had arguably his best game of the season in Sunday’s 30-17 win over the Detroit Lions . The 10-time Pro Bowler helped lead the Chiefs to their third win of the season with six receptions for a game-high 78 yards.

Over his first six games of the season, Kelce has already registered 28 catches for 321 yards and two touchdowns. It has been a bit of an up-and-down start for the All-Pro TE to start his 13th season in the NFL, but it’s hard to deny that Kelce is starting to look like his old self again of late.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce looks on during a game.Jean Carniel/Reuters via Imagn Images
(Jean Carniel/Reuters via Imagn Images)

Kelce, however, suffered a bit of an injury scare in the first half of the game.

After catching a pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes late in the second quarter, Kelce rushed to the endzone to try and score his third TD of the season. Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin got in the way, though, and he ended up throwing Kelce to the ground at the one-yard line.

Kelce, who attempted to jump over the tackle, landed on his head and risked suffering a neck injury. At one point, it looked like the 36-year-old was on a full headstand without using his hands.

Kelce addressed the injury scare in Tuesday’s episode of his “New Heights” podcast . When asked by his co-host and brother, Jason Kelce , about the tackle, the Chiefs star was quick to play down the issue.

"He caught me with a Charley horse on my thigh," Kelce said. "I got a Charley horse more than I got anything going on with my neck.”

For context, a Charley horse refers to an involuntary cramp that commonly occurs in the legs. In Kelce’s case, it appears that this was brought about by Ya-Sin making contact with his quad during the tackle.

Either way, the issue is not a concern for Kelce. What he’s more worried about is how he failed to get to the endzone during the play.

“God dammit, Travis, you're on the [expletive] one-yard line,” he said. “Get to the goddamn endzone. Stop jumping, man."

Jason Kelce was having a laugh at the expense of his brother, especially with how Travis Kelce attempted and failed to get the ball in the endzone even after he was down. The Chiefs TE could not help but agree.

"It looks even worse," he continued. "They did it in a slow-motion on the broadcast. It made it look even worse.”

Kelce and the Chiefs are back in action on Sunday in another home game at Arrowhead Stadium. They will put their 3-3 record to the test against a 2-4 Las Vegas Raiders side.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Oct 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.