- Travis Kelce broke Tony Gonzalez’s all-time receiving yards record with the Chiefs
- But he admitted to brother Jason that he should have done it weeks ago
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Travis Kelce has admitted it’s a “damn honor” to break Tony Gonzalez’s record for most receiving yards ever by a Kansas City Chiefs player.
Kelce had a disappointing day by his high standards against the Miami Dolphins, but the Chiefs ran out 21-14 winners last week in Frankfurt, Germany.
However, the 14 yards he was able to put up were enough to bring his career total to 10,941, overtaking Gonzalez’s Hall of Fame mark of 10,940 for the most in Chiefs history.
Asked by brother Jason how it felt to set the record on the latest episode of their New Heights podcastTravis admitted he should have checked off the record weeks ago.
He said: ‘I should have broken this record three weeks ago. Either way, it’s an absolute honor.
Travis Kelce says it’s a “damn honor to break Tony Gonzalez’s receiving record for the Chiefs.”
“Since I came here to Kansas City, where I was mentored by Tony Gonzalez, the best who ever did it, to try to fill his shoes every day and achieve some of the milestones he set – like receiving yards in franchise history – it’s just an honor to be here in KC, knowing that greatness has walked its halls and that I could be a part of that greatness, man.
“Isn’t that a crazy statistic to even think about? I’m an old dog.’
Kelce is now 59 yards away from joining an elite club of players who will reach 11,000 yards in the NFL.
The only ones to achieve this feat are Gonzalez (15,127), Jason Witten (13,046) and Antonio Gates (11,841).
Gonzalez also holds the record for reaching the 11,000-yard mark in the fewest games, having done so in 191 games. Kelce currently has 152 plays.
As for Chiefs records at the position, Kelce has 870 receptions and 73 touchdowns to Gonzalez’s 916 and 76.
Kelce’s 14 yards in Frankfort last week saw him overtake Gonzalez’s 10,940 for the Chiefs
Gonzalez played for the Chiefs from 1997 to 2008 before spending five years with the Atlanta Falcons
Gonzalez played in Kansas City from 1997 to 2008 before finishing his career with the Atlanta Falcons from 2009 to 2013.
During his career, Gonzalez made fourteen Pro-Bowl appearances with six first-team All-Pro selections. Gonzalez also holds the NFL record for most career receptions by a tight end with 1,325.
When asked about coach Andy Reid’s comments after the game — he joked that he hadn’t given Kelce the ball enough during his 10 years with the Chiefs — Kelce said, “He tried to give me the ball.”
“I couldn’t get open, or you know, football happened and Pat had to take the rock somewhere else or get it out of his pocket.
“I know Coach Reid is calling me. There’s no shortage of me getting calls on Sundays, so we’ll keep trying to get those stats up.
“Who knows, I might catch Tony Gonzalez with the most receiving yards by a tight end when I die, because I still have 4,000 damn yards to go.”