Chiefs coach Andy Reid says Travis Kelce is willing to “sacrifice for the cause” amid down year.

There’s no getting around it Travis Kelce is having a bad year statistically, but head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs Andy Reid praised his star tight end for making the best of things.

Kelce, 35, has scored just two touchdowns in Kansas City’s first 15 games of the season. The 9-time Pro Bowler has never finished a season with fewer than 5 points.

Additionally, Kelce has accumulated 739 receiving yards – certainly not a number the average tight end can’t laugh at – but Kelce has never finished a season with fewer than 862 receiving yards, dating back to his rookie season in 2014.

The Chiefs have two regular season games left, both on the road: Wednesday, December 25th against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Sunday, January 5th against the Denver Broncos.

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Given all the noise about Kelce’s lack of production, Reid, 66, acknowledged that Kelce hears the chatter – but has learned to let it roll off his chest.

“He’s doing it all well,” Reid told reporters on Monday, Dec. 23. “Good team leader. That’s why he was elected captain in recent years.”

Reid continued: “He would sacrifice himself for the cause, as they say. I’m not telling you he doesn’t like to play, catch and do all those things. He loves it. But at the same time he is ready to help anywhere.”

Despite Kelce’s poor numbers, the Chiefs still managed to post a 14-1 record – the best in the NFL.

Kelce’s head coach’s comments came after the Chiefs signed the veteran tight end Robert Tonyan to their practice squad, a move that could impact Kelce’s performance if the 30-year-old Tonyan is added to the main roster.

On the Dec. 4 episode of his “New Heights” podcast, Kelce admitted that he and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes struggled to find the eternal chemistry that has wreaked havoc in the NFL since 2018.

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“I’m very proud once we get in the red zone, man,” Kelce told his older brother. Jason Kelce. “I’m getting a little hungrier. Right now I just can’t find my way in the end zone this year for some reason. I’m just not on the same page as Pat. It can get frustrating. It can get pretty damn frustrating. That’s for damn sure.”

At the start of the season, Travis explained that he had stopped worrying so much about his personal numbers for the greater good of the team.

“I stopped caring about stats about four or five years ago,” Travis said Sept. 18 on “New Heights.” “I just went out there and started playing freely and playing for my guys. “In fact, I think that’s the better mentality. You think about it from game to game and what your job is on that particular play.”

Travis will get a chance to right the ship when the Chiefs travel to Pittsburgh for the Christmas Day showdown against the Steelers, streaming on Netflix at 1 p.m. ET.