Why isn’t Travis Kelce playing against Chargers? Chiefs TE inactive in regular season finale

Don’t worry, Swifties.

There’s no bad blood between Travis Kelce and anyone on the Kansas City Chiefs when the star tight end sits out the regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Prior to kickoff, the Chiefs announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Kelce was ruled out for the matchup in a coaching decision. They later posted that wide receivers Rashee Rice and Kadarius Toney, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, defensive end Mike Danna and tackle Donovan Smith were also inactive for the game.

Earlier in the week, head coach Andy Reid said that Patrick Mahomes would sit out the game with the AFC West and a playoff spot already clinched. Blaine Gabbert will start at quarterback.

It is a common practice in the NFL for teams to sit star players and other members of their starting lineup in the final week of the regular season to protect them from injury before the playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns were among those who sat players in Week 18.

Earlier on Sunday, Detroit Lions rookie tight end Sam LaPorta injured his knee in the regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions had already captured the NFC North title and a playoff spot, so the game was essentially meaningless.

Kelce also sat out the regular season finale of the 2020 season, also against the Chargers, when they had their playoff spot secured. The Chiefs ended up going to the Super Bowl.

Kelce, who made headlines this year for dating popstar Taylor Swift, finishes the regular season with 93 receptions for 984 yards and five touchdowns. This means his streak of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons is snapped at seven. Per USA TODAY’s Nate Davis, no other tight end in NFL history has more than three 1,000-yard seasons in a row.