Travis Kelce, near 35, ‘wouldn’t listen’ if Chiefs pitched lesser role

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If the Chiefs’ offense is changing as a concession to age this season for Travis Kelce, who will turn 35 in October, the veteran tight end doesn’t know about it.

“I probably wouldn’t listen to them if they did,” Kelce said, perhaps joking and perhaps not.

Either way, Kelce said he feels that he’s as physically ready for a season as he has been in years.

“You get more comfortable with your body,” Kelce said. “You learn things from the mistakes you made in years past and things like that. You just constantly keep getting better and keep getting more aware of where your body’s at.

“I’m excited. I get to play another year of football [with a] fresh slate. Get to kind of prove to ourselves and Chiefs Kingdom that we’re one of the top dogs and we can play at a high level.”

Kelce joined the Chiefs in 2013 as a third-round draft pick. Despite having a broadening choice of career options beyond football, which include acting roles and a deal with Amazon’s Wondery reportedly worth more than $100 million for the “New Heights” podcast he hosts with his brother Jason, Kelce said he’s lost none of his enthusiasm for football.

“I just love coming in here [and] I just love football and how it takes me away from life,” Kelce said. “It gives me something I can feel genuinely happy about. I enjoy coming into the building, working on my craft, getting to understand a new game plan and perfecting that for the people around me. [It] gives me a purpose to kind of go about my day and to live my life and I have so much excitement doing it.

“I’m forever fortunate to be able to play as many games as I’ve played already in this league and that’s why I really enjoy going out there every single day, even if it’s just a practice to really work on my craft. I know not everybody gets that same fortune in their career and I’m ready to rock Week 1 and I’m thankful for it.”