INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Travis Kelce not only showed that rumors of his demise were a little exaggerated on Sunday, he became the Kansas City Chiefs' career receptions leader.
Kelce had seven receptions for 89 yards as the Chiefs rallied for a 17-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. With his second catch, he passed Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez for the franchise mark.
Kelce declined to speak with reporters in the locker room after the game.
Even though Kelce was off to a slow start statistically during his first three games this season, making only eight catches for 69 yards, coach Andy Reid didn't put any additional emphasis on Kelce needing a breakout game.
“I really don’t care what anybody thinks, to be honest with you," Reid said. "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.”
Kansas City's wide receivers also showed their support when they wore custom Kelce T-shirts during pregame warmups.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who attributed Kelce's slow start to the extra attention he was receiving from opposing defenses, also wasn't losing much sleep over his favorite target's early lack of receptions.
“I mean, the whole Kelce thing in general hasn’t been a worry to me," Mahomes said. "I know whatever we need, he’s going to make plays. And that's what he did today.”
The nine-time Pro Bowl tight end made a 38-yard reception on the third play of Kansas City's opening drive to tie the record of 916 catches set by Gonzalez over 12 seasons from 1997 to 2008. Kelce then caught a 5-yard pass on the Chiefs' fourth drive to break the record early in his own 12th season with the team. He now has 922 receptions.
“They played quite a little bit of zone out there, and Kelce did a nice job of just getting in windows," Reid said. “When they did play man, he was able to do a nice job there. There wasn’t as much double-team as maybe he’s seen or settling in on him as much as he’s seen. He did very good.”
Taylor Swift wasn't in attendance at SoFi Stadium to see the latest achievement by her boyfriend, who is fourth in NFL history for receptions by a tight end. Kelce trails Gonzalez — who finished with 1,325 catches after playing five seasons for Atlanta following his Chiefs career — along with Jason Witten and Antonio Gates.
The veteran might need to take an even bigger role in the champs' offense after top receiver Rashee Rice injured his right knee in a collision with Mahomes during an interception return. The play started when Mahomes overthrew Kelce downfield, allowing Kristian Fulton to pick off the pass.
“With Rashee going out, you've got to put Kelce back in that situation where he can get high-volume catches,” Mahomes said. “The Chargers were taking away some of the outside stuff and leaving the middle of the field open.”
Kelce, who turns 35 on Saturday, is closing in on two additional Kansas City franchise records.
He has 74 touchdown receptions, trailing only Gonzalez's 77. Kelce's 77 total touchdowns are seven behind Priest Holmes' Chiefs record of 84.
AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this report.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce warms up before the start of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce catches a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine are due to hold their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expect them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than 3-year war.
A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov was due to meet with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
The latest push to end the fighting got off to a rocky start on Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face. Delegations from the two countries also flew to different Turkish cities and put together teams of significantly different diplomatic heft for possible talks.
Although expectations for a possible Putin-Zelenskyy meeting were low, the apparent lack of traction in peace efforts frustrated hopes of bold steps being taken in Turkey toward reaching a settlement.
The two sides are far apart in their conditions for ending the war, and U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday during a trip to the Middle East that a meeting between himself and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.
On Friday, Trump said a meeting with Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”
“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
Ukraine has accepted a U.S. and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Meantime, Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.
Russia’s invasion has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the U.N. says, and razed towns and villages. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died, and likely a larger number of Russian troops, officials and analysts say.
A Friday morning drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk killed a 55-year-old woman and wounded four men, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, said. All the victims worked for a municipal utility.
After Putin didn’t take up Zelenskyy’s challenge to sit down with him in the Turkish capital on Thursday, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level negotiating team that he described as “a theater prop.”
Even so, Zelenskyy said that he was sending a team headed by his defense minister to Friday’s meeting in Istanbul. That would show Trump that Ukraine is determined to press ahead with peace efforts despite Russian foot-dragging, Zelenskyy said, amid intense diplomatic maneuvering by Kyiv and Moscow.
The Russian delegation also includes three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks.
A flurry of diplomatic activity took place in Istanbul before the talks.
Ukrainian officials held an early-morning meeting with national security advisers from the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom to coordinate positions, a senior Ukrainian official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The U.S. team was led by retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, while Umerov and presidential office chief Andriy Yermak represented Ukraine, the official said.
A three-way meeting between Turkey, the U.S. and Ukraine also took place, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said. The U.S. side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as Kellogg.
Rubio on Thursday said he didn't foresee major developments in Istanbul.
“We don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,” Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya, Turkey.
Zelenskyy, meantime, flew to Albania to attend a meeting Friday of the leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war.
Aamer Madhani in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, servicemen prepare the drone "Kazhan" that delivers supply and carry heavy bombs, on the front line near Chasiv Yar town, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
Vehicles begin arriving outside a gate prior to expected talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
Vehicles begin arriving outside a gate prior to expected talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
