The Kansas City Chiefs had an injury scare last week when their star tight end exited briefly with an injury. So Is Travis Kelce playing this week? NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reported that he is expected to play — and that Taylor Swift will be in attendance. Still, let’s look at the most recent Travis Kelce injury updates as we assess whether he will be fully available for Week 6’s edition of Thursday Night Football. If you’re looking for the latest Travis Kelce odds, make sure to check out OddsShopper’s shop pages!
Travis Kelce Injury Update: Is Kansas City’s Star Playing Thursday?
Travis Kelce Injury Update
Travis Kelce exited last Sunday’s Chiefs-Vikings game with an ankle injury. He was estimated as a practice non-participant on Monday but logged limited work on Tuesday and Wednesday. That was enough for him to earn a questionable tag instead of getting listed as doubtful or ruled out, but his status remained in question until at least Wednesday evening.
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Still, Kelce’s inability to practice fully on Tuesday and Wednesday — and the fact he’ll now have to play on a Thursday night — both point to potential limitations for the star tight end. No source has confirmed that Kelce will be on a pitch count, but that’s relatively likely, especially in a game that the Chiefs are favored to win by a double-digit margin.
Is Travis Kelce Playing for Kansas City in Week 6?
So is Travis Kelce playing tonight? All signs point to yes. We won’t know for absolute certain until the Chiefs release their list of inactive players, but it would be shocking to not see Kelce on the field. The star tight end is a massive part of Kansas City’s offense — he leads the team in targets (37), receptions (27), receiving yards (222) and receiving touchdowns (3) despite missing a game.
However, bettors and fans alike shouldn’t expect a full workload for Kelce. When he returned from an injury in Week 2, the Chiefs had him on the field for only 64% of their offensive snaps. It wasn’t like he was getting rested because it was a blowout, either — the Chiefs scraped by with an eight-point win over the Jaguars that week.
With a blowout expected in Kansas City tonight, the Chiefs will likely take a cautious approach with the 34-year-old tight end. Kelce’s average snap share of 65.8% is down dramatically from last season — he played on fewer than 70% of the offensive snaps just once all year — so expect to see plenty of snaps for reserves Noah Gray and Blake Bell.
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