Travis Kelce has had an admittedly slow start to the season, but Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis is less than concerned.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Karlaftis said confidence in their star tight end is not wavering despite Kelce, 34, only catching eight passes in the team’s first three games.
“We have all the confidence in the world in him with all of the stuff he’s been able to do throughout his career and what he means to this team,” Karlaftis, 23, said. “Confidence in him is sky high, as always.”
Karlaftis further explained that Kelce is a vital part of the Chiefs’ ecosystem off the field, even as he’s become a household name given his relationship with girlfriend Taylor Swift.
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“I’ve witnessed Travis firsthand for almost three years now,” Karlaftis said. “There’s not a lot of people I have more respect for than him — not just as a football player, but as a guy and as a human being. It’s amazing to see how he’s dealt with everything and still been able to come to work.”
Karlaftis added, “With all the stuff going on, he comes and he works and he loves it.”
As for the specifics of Kelce’s slow start — which has been addressed by other teammates, coaches and even Kelce himself — Karlaftis said it’s partially due to Kelce’s reputation throughout the league.
“A lot of the time it’s a focal point of opposing defenses to double or triple him at times,” he explained to Us. “I’m sure we would do that if we were playing against the Chiefs offense.”
While Karlaftis has undeniable respect for Kelce, the two nearly came to blows at Chiefs training camp in July. After Karlaftis laid a questionable hit on teammate Kadarius Toney, Kelce got in Karlaftis’ face and shoved him.
The clip went viral — which came as a surprise to Karlaftis.
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“Those kinds of things happen every day,” Karlaftis recalled with a laugh. “Just because of the guy Travis is, it kind of blew up a little bit. I was getting all of these text messages and notifications and whatnot.”
Despite the confrontation, Karlaftis insisted there’s zero bad blood between the two.
“Trav and I are boys, so it wasn’t a big deal,” he told Us. “It was water under the bridge 10 minutes after it happened.”
The Chiefs return to action on Sunday, September 29 when they travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers.
