Travis Kelce apologizes for punching teammate during training camp

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce made headlines for the wrong reasons this week as training camps kicked off across the country. Cameras at Chiefs camp caught the seven-time All-Pro taking a swing at a teammate after some typical on-field physicality.

The 33-year-old owned up to his temper flare-up with a post on social media over the weekend.

“Gotta be a better teammate gotta be a better leader… plain and simple,” Kelce shared.

Gotta be a better teammate gotta be a better leader… plain and simple

— Travis Kelce (@tkelce) July 29, 2023

The incident occurred when linebacker Jack Cochrane, a second-year player out of South Dakota, attempted to punch the ball out after Kelce made a catch. The tight end apparently wasn’t too appreciative of it.

After a punch, Kelce also delivered a big push to Cochrane’s chest, before other teammates got involved to cool things down.

The former third-round draft pick is entering his 10th year in the league in 2023. He’s on year four of a four-year, $57.25 million deal with the Chiefs.

Kelce made history before training camp. He became the first NFL tight end to earn his fourth entry into the Madden “99 club.” After helping the Chiefs reach another Super Bowl in the 2022 season, Kelce scored a perfect 99 rating for Madden NFL 24, which comes out in August.

Kelce finished the 2022 season with a career-high 110 receptions for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season. He also added another 27 catches for 257 yards with four touchdowns on the way to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

Kelce’s swing-and-miss with Taylor Swift

Last week, Travis Kelce told his big brother, Jason, all about how he struck out when he tried to meet Taylor Swift. The Chiefs tight end made her a friendship bracelet but he ultimately didn’t get a chance to deliver it.

“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” Kelce said on his New Heights podcast. “So I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”

“She doesn’t meet anybody — or at least she didn’t want to meet me, so I took it personal, but it was an unbelievable show.”

Swift is closing the domestic leg of her Eras Tour in early August with six straight nights at SoFi Stadium, the home of both the Rams and Chargers. Then it’s off to Mexico, countries in South America and Europe, Japan and Singapore.

On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this report.