Travis Kelce dodged the media again after the Kansas City Chiefs were eliminated from the playoffs, marking the primary time in over a decade the team isn’t postseason-bound.
“Sorry guys, it’s not the time,” Kelce, 36, told reporters within the locker room on Sunday, December 14, per ESPN. “I’ll catch you guys in the course of the week.”
The Chiefs lost 16-13 to the Los Angeles Chargers, officially eliminating them from playoff contention for the primary time since 2014.
Refusing to talk to the media after losses has develop into a habit for Kelce this season, who also skirted the responsibility following the Chiefs games against the Houston Texans on December 8 and the Denver Broncos on November 16.
As a substitute, Kelce has taken to using his “Latest Heights” podcast as a technique to discuss the Chiefs’ difficult season in a more controlled setting.
Kansas City wide receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy left the locker room before it was even open to media members on Sunday, in accordance with The Athletic.
It was a devastating afternoon for the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, which also saw quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffer a torn ACL on the team’s final drive of the sport.
“Don’t know why this needed to occur,” Mahomes, 30, posted via X after the sport. “And never going to lie it’s hurts. But all we are able to do now’s Trust in God and attack each day over and another time. Thanks Chiefs kingdom for all the time supporting me and for everybody who has reached out and sent prayers. I Might be back stronger than ever ⏰.”
Mahomes underwent an MRI on Sunday, which confirmed the injury. The team announced Mahomes is “currently exploring surgical options.”
Together with his teammates balking at addressing the loss on Sunday, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones was left to be the voice of the locker room in the course of the postgame press conference.
“Success is rented yearly,” Jones, 31, said. “Sometimes it don’t go the way in which you planned for it to go. I believe we learned quite a bit this yr.”
He added, “We will be mad at ourselves, and we are able to ask God why. But at times, it’s a lesson that you just’re being taught along the journey. We’d be selfish to ask God why. Why right away? Why this? We more so [have] to know it and construct from it.”
Jones said he was capable of briefly see Mahomes after the sport before taking to the rostrum.
“I just hugged him, man,” Jones told reporters. “That’s my brother. We’ve been through a lot. We love Pat.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid also spoke to the media after the loss on Sunday, taking the brunt of it on the chin.
“We weren’t quite adequate in all three phases,” Reid said. “That’s my responsibility to make sure that you don’t have these sorts of mistakes. I’ll look within the mirror first on this.”
The Chiefs return to motion on Sunday, December 21, once they travel to Tennessee to face the Titans. Gardner Minshew, who took over as quarterback after Mahomes was injured, is anticipated to start out.