Travis Kelce questionable for Week 1 after hurting knee in practice
The NFL season kicks off with a Thursday night showdown between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs. There’s a lot of excitement heading into this game, as many people expect the Lions to compete in the NFC North this year. And an opening-week matchup with the defending Super Bowl champs should be a great litmus test for Dan Campbell’s young team. However, the Chiefs got some bad news on Tuesday, September 5th, as Andy Reid told the media that Travis Kelce’s status for Week 1 is now in question after the tight end hyper-extended his knee in practice.
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Chiefs’ HC Andy Reid told reporters that Travis Kelce hyper-extended his knee at practice today and his status for Thursday night’s opener vs the Lions is uncertain.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 5, 2023
Last season, Kelce caught 110 passes for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns for Kansas City. He was the unquestioned No. 1 option in the passing game in 2022, as Patrick Mahomes targeted him 152 times on the season. If he’s out, it’ll be a big blow to the Chiefs passing game, as this team continues to lose talent at the wide receiver position. Two offseasons ago, Kansas City dealt Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. Then, the Chiefs allowed one of Hill’s replacements, JuJu Smith-Schuster, to walk after a 2022 season that saw him hauling in 78 catches for 933 yards and three touchdowns.
The news of Kelce being questionable for Week 1 forced sportsbooks to move the line from Kansas City -6.5 to Kansas City -4.5. The total is also down from 54.5 to 52. Of course, you should doubt an offense led by Mahomes and Reid at your own risk. But it’s hard to be excited about Kansas City’s wide receiver room right now. The team is relying heavily on unproven pass catchers like Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Rashee Rice. That is a more palatable group when a guy like Kelce is there to suck away the attention of opposing defenses. Without the eight-time Pro Bowler, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s job would be a lot easier.
BREAKING NEWS
Travis Kelce Uncertain in Kansas City Chiefs Season Opener After Hyperextending Knee During Practice! @mlombardiNFL and @StormBuonantony were joined by @jayfeely on the #LombardiLine to breakdown what the news means for the #Chiefs & #Lions on Thursday pic.twitter.com/nh2iBtft3P— VSiN (@VSiNLive) September 5, 2023
Make sure you’re constantly checking our VSiN Injury Report for Kelce’s status throughout the week. We’ll have updates as soon as they’re available to the public. And plenty of our VSiN analysts will have best bets on this game, so make sure you look out for more NFL stories throughout the week — or at least check in on the Pro Picks page. We’ll surely have some more analysis on what this injury might mean later in the week.
