One of Travis Kelce’s former Kansas City Chiefs teammates gave him major kudos for his relationship with his girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
Derrick Johnson, who played with Kelce, 35, for five seasons in Kansas City from 2013 to 2017, watched along with the rest of the world when the football superstar started dating Swift, 35, in 2023.
“He outkicked his coverage,” Johnson, 42, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday, August 12. “Taylor’s big time. Kelce’s big time as well, football-wise, but she is globally. So they’re definitely a power couple.”
Johnson played with Kelce for the first five years of Kelce’s NFL career before leaving to play his final season with the Oakland Raiders.
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It only took a couple of seasons for Johnson — a linebacker who still holds the Chiefs franchise record for career tackles — to notice what kind of player Kelce was.
“None of us knew who he could really be,” he said. “He probably didn’t know it at all either. And once he got going after his second year, third year, I was like, ‘This guy is the man!’”
While Kelce finds himself in a committed relationship with Swift now, he was still on the hunt for love when the tight end and Johnson were teammates.
Kelce’s notorious dating show, Chasing Kelce, hit the airwaves when he and Johnson were on the roster together, which Johnson remembered well.
“He tried not to [talk about the show in the locker room] but we kind of teased him at times, because when you’re playing for [head coach] Andy Reid, there’s no distractions,” Johnson recalled. “You got to do your job and do it at a high level. So we were aware of the show in the locker room. We’d throw different stuff out there. But when it came to football, it was all business.”
Despite the ribbing about the reality show, Johnson admitted Kelce didn’t exactly struggle when it came to dating.
“He had that taken care of,” Johnson said. “Good or bad, that’s the area that he needs no help in.”
Kelce is on the cusp of returning for his 13th NFL season when the Chiefs kick off the regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers on September 5.
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After an underwhelming statistical season last year, Kelce admitted his career aspirations outside of football distracted him.
“I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up,” Kelce said in his GQ cover story, which was published on Tuesday. “And opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer.”
As for Kelce’s mindset entering this season, he’s still focused on greatness.
“Win a Super Bowl is the only goal,” he said. “It’s the only goal. It’s every goal.”
