{"id":29281,"date":"2025-02-27T08:43:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T08:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=29281"},"modified":"2025-02-27T08:43:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T08:43:50","slug":"breaking-travis-kelce-was-fighting-a-big-illness-before-his-super-bowl-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=29281","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Travis Kelce was fighting a \u201cbig illness\u201d before his Super Bowl defeat ."},"content":{"rendered":"

Kansas City Chiefs’ General Manager Brett Veach was interviewed on the NFL podcast ‘The Insiders’<\/p>\n

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\"Travis<\/div>\n<\/div>
Travis Kelce.<\/span>\u00a0Photo:\u00a0<\/span>Kara Durrette\/Getty<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Travis Kelce\u00a0was fighting a \u201cbig illness\u201d before his\u00a0Super Bowl\u00a0defeat.<\/p>\n

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Brett Veach, 47, General Manager of Kelce\u2019s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, spoke about the issues facing the tight end in the run-up to the game on an upcoming episode of the NFL podcast,\u00a0The I<\/em>n<\/em>siders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Noting that he wasn\u2019t \u201cmaking excuses\u201d for the Chiefs\u2019 loss, Veach said that Kelce was \u201cbattling a pretty big illness\u201d before the Super Bowl, which took place on Feb. 9, in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

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He then quipped that Kelce\u2019s illness didn\u2019t make much difference to the score as the Eagles \u2014 who won 40-22 \u2014 played so well. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have the end to our season that we hoped for,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Touching on the loss, Veach admitted that the Chiefs had \u201cpicked a bad day to have a bad day.\u201d But he said that the team would use the experience as \u201cmotivation to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou learn more from your losses than your wins,\u201d Veach added.<\/p>\n

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\"Kansas<\/div>\n<\/div>
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) holds the Lamar Hunt Trophy in the air as he stands on the trophy presentation stage next to Chiefs general manager Brett Veach after winning the game against the Tennessee Titans during the NFL AFC Championship football game.<\/span>Paul Spinelli via AP<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Chiefs boss then addressed the swirling rumors that\u00a0Kelce, 35, is set to retire. When asked if the star would return for the 2025 season, Veach said, \u201cI think so. We anticipate Travis being back. We\u2019re excited to have Travis back.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also noted that Kelce shares a unique relationship with \u201cPat\u201d \u2014 quarterback\u00a0Patrick Mahomes, 29 \u2014 and revealed that he \u201cfinds a way to stay in shape and produce at a level that only he can.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe makes us better when he\u2019s in our locker room and on our field and we\u2019re excited to get him back,\u201d Veach continued, adding that Kelce had \u201caccomplished everything that there is in this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The sports manager also touched on Kelce\u2019s \u201cunique ability to make those around him better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Travis himself spoke about his future in the NFL on the Feb. 12, episode of\u00a0New Heights<\/em>, the podcast he presents alongside his brother\u00a0Jason Kelce.<\/p>\n

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Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cI know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. I’m not making any crazy decisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\"KANSAS<\/div>\n<\/div>
Travis Kelce and girlfriend Taylor Swift.<\/span>Jamie Squire\/Getty<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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He also noted that the \u201cbiggest thing\u201d for him and his teammates right now is \u201cbeing there\u201d for each other and \u201cunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Jason, 37, said he thinks Travis has already made up his mind about his sporting future on the Feb. 21, episode of\u00a0\u00a0The Steam Room<\/em>\u00a0podcast.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think Travis, I think he probably, in his heart, already knows what he wants to do,\u201d the Eagles alum said \u201cThat\u2019s the reality of it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kansas City Chiefs’ General Manager Brett Veach was interviewed on the NFL podcast ‘The Insiders’ Travis Kelce.\u00a0Photo:\u00a0Kara Durrette\/Getty Travis Kelce\u00a0was fighting a \u201cbig illness\u201d before his\u00a0Super Bowl\u00a0defeat…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING : Travis Kelce was fighting a \u201cbig illness\u201d before his Super Bowl defeat . - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=29281\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Travis Kelce was fighting a \u201cbig illness\u201d before his Super Bowl defeat . - 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