Ed Kelce questions if Travis Kelce was hit with a banned hip-drop tackle by LA Chargers player in Chiefs game

Travis Kelce’s father Ed has asked if his son was the target of a dangerous hip-drop tackle by Los Angeles Chargers safety AJ Finley on Sunday.

Kelce caught a 38-yard throw from Patrick Mahomes before Finley brought him down in the first quarter of the game. The Chiefs tight end didn’t appear injured by the tackle or displeased with Finley’s challenge, but stood up to celebrate.

But on Monday, Ed Kelce shared a clip of the catch with the caption: “Was this one of those drop-hip tackles?”

NFL teams voted unanimously to ban hip drop tackles ahead of the 2024 season, saying analysis of more than 20,000 tackles found the technique is 20 times more likely to cause injuries.

It described a hip drop tackle in which a player “grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both hands and unloads himself by twisting and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on the runner’s legs and clamps it. mastered.’

Kelce was tackled by Chargers’ safety AJ Finley after his 38-yard reception for the Chiefs

Finley grabbed Kelce with both arms before the two players tumbled to the ground and he appeared to land on the back of Kelce’s left leg. Upon closer inspection, it’s easy to see how Kelce could have been seriously injured if his luck was against him.

Last year, Kelce’s fellow tight end Mark Andrews, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens, missed two months when a hip drop tackle from Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson left him needing surgery for a broken fibula and ligament damage.

An injury to Kelce would have been devastating for the Chiefs. Hollywood Brown is already out for the season, Isaiah Pacheco is out about eight weeks with a broken leg and Rashee Rice is expected to miss significant time after hurting his knee in Sunday’s game on a mistimed tackle by Mahomes.

It made it all the more timely for Kelce to signal a return to form in the hard-fought 17-10 win at SoFi Stadium.

The gain of 38 yards was a standout moment on a day when he claimed a franchise record for most receptions in Chiefs history with a total of 922. He had seven catches against the Chargers overall, for a total of 89 yards.

It overshadowed what Kelce had accomplished in his first three games of the season combined, which was just eight catches for 69 yards.

Kelce’s girlfriend Taylor Swift wasn’t in the stands to cheer him on in California on Sunday, the second week in a row she has skipped a Chiefs game.

Kelce did not speak to reporters in the locker room after the game, but coach Andy Reid dismissed any concerns about his star man returning to his best.

Ed Kelce took to Facebook on Monday to question the tackle on his son in the game

“I really don’t care what anyone thinks, to be honest,” Reid said. “I look at what the defense does and how they respect him, and then I take it from there.

“And I watch Trav every day, so I see him how he works, how he never wants to come out in training, in the game. He’s always there, so I don’t worry about that.’

Kelce turns 35 on Saturday, October 5. His next game for the Chiefs is next Monday – the first Monday night game he will play since his brother Jason retired and joined ESPN as an analyst.