Following a whirlwind summer with girlfriend Taylor Swift and subsequent reunion with his teammates at training camp, NFL star Travis Kelce made his return to the gridiron during the Kansas City Chiefs’ first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The tight end, 34, took the field at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday, Aug. 10, for the first time since the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII win over the San Francisco 49ers in February.
Ahead of the game, Kelce was spotted on the official Chiefs Instagram accountsporting a stylish look consisting of a patterned button-down shirt, khaki pants, gold sunglasses, a matching gold chain, a cap reading “Superbad” — printed in the font of the 2007 comedy movie’s poster — and some Nike shoes in the Chiefs’ colors: red and gold.
Although the Chiefs faced a tough defeat, losing to the Jaguars 13-26, Kelce and several of his teammates — including rookie running back Carson Steele, who scored a high-energy touchdown, and controversial kicker Harrison Butker, who netted a 45-yard kick — made a few solid plays.
The game saw the introduction of a new NFL rule concerning kickoffs, and several critics — among them, CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan — wrote that this may be something that the team collectively needs to work on.
“One of the big-picture takeaways from that first half is that the Chiefs clearly need to work on the new kickoff,” Sullivan wrote. “A lot of struggles in multiple areas.”
Travis Kelce takes the field ahead of the Chiefs’ preseason game against the Jaguars on Aug. 10, 2024.
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During the NFL off-season, Kelce spent much of his downtime with Swift, also 34, as she continued performing the international legs of her record-breaking Eras Tour.
Aside from watching the singer perform in European cities including Paris, Amsterdamand London, where Kelce also appeared onstage with Swift, the couple also went on vacation together in the Bahamas in March and took a romantic getaway to Italy in May.
At the end of the July, Kelce’s focus turned back to football, when the Chiefs commenced training camp on July 21 as they started preparation for the 2024-2025 NFL season.
Travis Kelce warms up ahead of the Chiefs’ preseason game against the Jaguars on Aug. 10, 2024.
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Following one of the practices on July 28, Kelce greeted both Chiefs fans and Swifties alike during an autograph day with the team’s tight ends and receivers.
At the time, 16-year-old fan Hannah Calhoun told PEOPLE she came to training camp all the way from Lexington, Ky., with her parents in order to see Kelce — even bringing friendship bracelets and a sign that read, “Travis, I have a blank space, so come write your name.”
“I love Taylor and I think she’s a great role model and so I love that my daughter has her to look up to and so we thought, ‘Let’s do this, Let’s go out and see Travis Kelce,’ ” Hannah’s mom Alison said.
Following two more preseason games — against the Detroit Lions at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 17 and the Chicago Bears (also at home) on Aug. 22 — Kelce and the Chiefs will officially kick off the new NFL season on Sept. 5.
During the Thursday night opening game at Arrowhead, the Chiefs will face off against the Baltimore Ravens.
