Travis Kelce suffered a hyper-extended knee in practice, leaving his status for Thursday up in the air. Several correspondents have provided updates since the incident took place early Tuesday afternoon.
The Athletic’s Nate Taylor posted the background details surrounding the injury after speaking with Chiefs tight end Blake Bell.
“Blake Bell indicated that Travis Kelce’s injury occurred during a red zone period,” said Taylor in a post. “A usual part to the week’s final practice.”
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport posted an update on Kelce and the team’s expectations moving forward.
“Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce’s status is in doubt for Thursday night’s opener vs. the Lions because of his knee injury, but sources tell me and Tom Pelissero it’s not believed to be a long-term injury,” Rapoport reported. “They’ll wait for the swelling to go down and go from there.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter followed up with early test results from Chiefs team doctors.
“After tests today, the Chiefs believe Travis Kelce’s ACL is intact, per source.” said Schefter in a post. “There is inflammation in his knee, and they will test it again Wednesday to determine his availability for Thursday night vs. the Lions.”
The news initially appears that Kelce is trending towards missing time, significantly diminishing the Chiefs’ chances of success. The positive outlook is that Kelce’s absence will not be prolonged, and he could return earlier than expected.
