Travis Kelce felt his phone buzz on Tuesday evening. He answered, and his girlfriend gave him the news he secretly feared might be coming.
His quarterback, Alex Smith, had just been traded to Washington.
“I still can’t really describe it,” said Kelce, the Chiefs’ star tight end who was making the Super Bowl media rounds Wednesday at the Mall of America. “It’s a (bad) feeling.”
Kelce’s desire to see Smith remain a Chief had far more to do with Smith — a man he calls a brother — than his replacement, rookie Patrick Mahomes. Smith has been Kelce’s quarterback since the tight end’s rookie year in 2013, and in many ways Kelce sees Smith as a major reason he’s not only become a Pro Bowler, but also signed a life-changing extension.