National Football League

Chiefs keeping watchful eye on Travis Kelce's ankle with Broncos up Thursday night

Published Oct. 9, 2023 7:16 p.m. ET

Travis Kelce has been in the spotlight the past few weeks thanks largely to his new relationship with Taylor Swift.

He'll be in the spotlight this coming week because of his ankle.

The All-Pro tight end hurt it during the first half of the Kansas City Chiefs' win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Kelce managed to return in the second half and had a couple of big catches down the stretch in the 27-20 victory, but the Chiefs now have a short week to get him healthy before they face the Denver Broncos on Thursday night.

"When you have any type of injury you have to go through and say, ‘OK, this is what we think is going to happen based off of Travis,' or whoever the player is," Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said Monday.

"We listen to where we think things are, we have to put together what we think is going to happen and then have that contingency plan."

The Chiefs (4-1) should have an idea of what that looks like.

Kelce had not missed a game to injury since his rookie season before the opener against Detroit, when a hyperextended knee sustained a couple of days earlier kept him out.

The Chiefs' offense wasn't the same, either, with Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the crew struggling much of the way in a 21-20 loss — their only one this season.

If Kelce is limited at all, Noah Gray and Blake Bell would get additional time at tight end. But the Chiefs also would look to their young wide receivers, including Rashee Rice, who started to shine during the win over the Vikings.

"We have guys that where it might have been a three-tight end set, we throw a receiver in there and stuff like that. We have guys that are able to learn that, know the offense," Mahomes said.

"So we prepare for that stuff. You can't always prepare for everything, but we try to prepare for if someone goes down or if something happens how we can still run our plays."

Patrick Mahomes throws 2 TDs in Chiefs win over Vikings

Kelce has proven to be one of the most durable players in the league, though, and that he was able to return in the second half gives Kansas City hope that he will be on the field again Thursday night.

"He finds a new way to surprise me every week," wide receiver Justin Watson said. "That looked like a gnarly injury, and I was surprised he even made it off the sideline. Then for him to come back and have the second half he did, that guy is tough as nails. I love playing with Trav. He fired us all back up coming in here."

Reporting by The Associated Press.