Travis Kelce active for Chiefs in AFC championship game despite back injury
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will play on Sunday, though that was in question until the team submitted its list of inactives.
Kelce, who has a back injury, worked out before the game and the Chiefs apparently were comfortable enough having him active for the AFC championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
His reply to CBS' Tracy Wolfson before the game wasn't a surprise.
Kelce just told me no way he wouldn’t play in this one! Reid just wanted to make sure Kelce did some running before making a decision. He did and looked good. #Chiefs
— Tracy Wolfson (@tracywolfson) January 29, 2023
Kelce wasn't on the injury report on Wednesday or Thursday, but showed up as questionable with a back injury when the team put out its report on Friday. Kelce had back spasms this week and woke up Sunday with tightness in his back, NFL Media's James Palmer said. Kelce has not missed a game due to injury since his rookie season of 2014. He did miss a game due to COVID-19 in 2021.
Kelce is by far the Chiefs' top skill-position player. He has seven straight 1,000-yard seasons. This season he had 110 catches for 1,138 yards and 12 touchdowns, all of which led the team. Kelce was named first-team All-Pro.
