Travis Kelce’s father, Ed Kelce, speculated that his son was the latest victim of the outlawed hip-drop tackle.
Several minutes into the Kansas City Chiefs’ 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Kelce streaked down the sideline and reeled in a back-shoulder pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The star tight end rumbled for several more yards before being dragged down from behind by safety AJ Finley on the 38-yard completion.
Though Kelce hardly seemed annoyed with the tackle – promptly high-fiving Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy and signaling a first down – Ed was less than pleased with Finley’s play. Taking to social media on Monday, he shared a clip of the catch alongside the caption: “Was this one of those drop-hip tackles?”
Back in March, owners from across the NFL ruled that a hip-drop tackle would be met with a 15-yard penalty and subsequent fine. Per the league rulebook, it is now illegal if a player “grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms” in order to “bring a runner to the ground.” A foul will also be administered if a player “unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”
While Finley did not receive a penalty for his tackle of Kelce, the NFL has not shied away from handing out delayed punishments for similar plays this season. After the Week 2 slate of games officially came to a close, four players were issued hefty fines for deploying hip-drop tackles despite the fact that no flags were thrown by officials immediately following the illegal moves.
Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards, Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton and New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley were each fined $16,883, while Los Angeles Rams defensive end Desjuan Johnson was charged $5,191.
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Travis Kelce finished Sunday’s game with seven catches for 89 yards ( Image:
Getty Images)
The Chiefs could ill-afford to lose Kelce had he been injured on the alleged hip-drop tackle. Wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is already slated to miss the entire 2024 regular season after undergoing surgery on his shoulder, while running back Isaiah Pacheco is expected to be sidelined for 6-8 weeks after fracturing his fibula in the closing minutes of Kansas City’s 26-25 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.
Most recently, star wideout Rashee Rice injured his knee after colliding into Mahomes following an interception against the Chargers. While the exact extent of the injury has yet to be revealed, the 24-year-old is expected to miss significant time.
Regardless, Kelce had much to be happy about on Sunday, successfully breaking out of an early season funk by reeling in seven catches for 89 yards. The 34-year-old additionally made history by recording the most receptions in Chiefs history with 922.
Addressing Kelce’s lackluster beginning to the season, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters: “I really don’t care what anybody thinks, to be honest with you. I watch what the defense does and how they respect him, and so I take it off of that.
“And I watch Trav every day, so I get to see him in how he works, how he never wants to come out in practice, in the game. He’s all in all the time, so I don’t worry about all that.”
