When Travis Kelce reacted to adjusting with Patrick Mahomes after Alex Smith's trade: "It's awkward"
It's hard to remember a time when Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce weren't winning Super Bowls together and creating a dynasty for the Kansas City Chiefs. Before Mahomes was their quarterback, Alex Smith was the one throwing passes to Kelce.
The Chiefs drafted Mahomes in 2017, and on January 30, 2018, they traded Smith to Washington. The day after the trade, Travis Kelce was a guest on "The Rich Eisen Show" where he explained how there was going to be some "awkwardness" with a new QB leading the offense.
After all of the success Mahomes and Kelce have had since then, it's interesting to know that the tight end was a bit apprehensive about losing Smith.
"It's awkward, it's awkward," Kelce said. "I honestly don't know how to really accept it. My entire career, you can't say Travis Kelce without Alex Smith. He's been my quarterback, he's been the guy. I owe a lot of my success to him."
Kelce then gave his full support and commitment to Mahomes:
"So it's going to be awkward going into a huddle, like I said, with anybody but Alex, but I know Pat is ready for the opportunity," Kelce added.. "He's taken a lot of mental reps and a lot of notes from Alex on how this thing should be run. Alex ran it to an absolute T this past season and, obviously, everyone's excited to see what [Mahomes] can do."
Kelce then told Eisen that he knew Mahomes was ready to take over and that he learned everything he could from Alex Smith. It's safe to say, it all worked out quite well for the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes said that Travis Kelce's lateral pass was improvised
Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes have developed a good relationship on and off the field and there is a high level of trust between them. That doesn't mean though that Mahomes does not get surprised at times with Kelce's decision-making on the field.
In the Week 5 win over the New Orleans Saints, the Chiefs were trying to get into field goal territory with 3:27 to go in the second quarter. Mahomes threw the ball to Kelce, who then made a lateral pass to Samaje Perine for a 21-yard gain. After the game, Mahomes talked about it and said that it was completely improvised by Kelce.
“I told him before the play, I said, ‘I’m going to throw it to you so we can get in field goal range' and he underhand shoveled it across the entire field," Mahomes said.
“It’s like I’m talking to Sterling. That’s Travis, man. He’s a special player. As long as he does it and it works, man, no one’s going to say anything.”
Patrick Mahomes went on to joke that while Kelce is a talented player, some conversations with him are similar to what he has with his three-year-old daughter.