ST. JOSEPH, Mo. _ All of a sudden, Travis Kelce is a few weeks away from turning 29 years old (Oct. 5), making him the eldest of the 19 receivers and tight ends on the Chiefs' 90-man training camp roster. For that matter, only Allen Bailey, Eric Berry, Dustin Colquitt and Justin Houston have been with the organization longer.
So maybe it's no wonder that when quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked what the three-time Pro Bowl tight end means to this team, he alluded to traits that speak to wisdom, maturity and reliability and otherwise being the glue of what figures to be a prolific offense.
"He's another quarterback on the field; he really knows this offense," Mahomes said. "He knows what he needs to do to get open. He knows what he needs to do to get other people open.
"And I think that's a very underrated aspect of his game, (knowing) how to move defenders in order to get other people open."
All of which points to another underrated aspect of the flamboyant, mesmerizing and infinitely talented Kelce's game: By all appearances, as of a few weeks into last season he finally found a mindset in which he could be amped and animated without crossing the line into the antics that had been hampering and occasionally even eclipsing his play for the better part of a year.
Since asserting in an NBC interview he would no longer be the "young idiot on the field doing immature things" and instantly proceeding to be just that in the 2017 opener at New England and a week later against Philadelphia, Kelce seemed to find his optimal emotional place most of the rest of last season.
As he embraces a leadership role that he knows must include setting an example, Kelce suggests he has a certain balance about him now.
Even if he makes no promises about his ability to harness the fervor that sometimes leads to outrageous and costly actions, Kelce at least understands that it's a work in progress and something to which he should aspire. And it's hard not to appreciate that self-awareness and zeal as he expressed it Thursday after the Chiefs first full-squad practice in their 2018 training camp.
"My passion for this game is never going to change; you're always going to see me kind of have that fieriness to me," he said. "That's just the only way I know how to play this game, and I love it for that.
"Because I get to release that energy and that passion, that anger that I have. So I mean it's something where still I'm going to have to keep learning with it and keep growing with it, but I think it's a little more under control than it was in the beginning."
Asked if he thought he turned a corner last season, Kelce said, "Um, I couldn't tell you."
In fact, no one has ever explicitly publicly accounted for how Kelce reeled himself. But coach Andy Reid clearly was seething after the Eagles game marked the fourth straight outing (not including pre-season) that Kelce had directly hurt the team _ and Kelce had no more personal fouls among three penalties overall (holding, a false start and pass interference) the rest of the season.
So it's reasonable to figure that the message was delivered more emphatically than it had been when Reid benched Kelce for the first series in the 2016 regular-season finale against San Diego (for reasons that never were explained).
Next time out, after all, Kelce earned an unnecessary roughness penalty in the playoff loss to Pittsburgh for shoving Steelers cornerback Ross Cockrell and was fined for what the NFL called a "personal attack on an individual game official."
Referee Carl Cheffers "shouldn't even be able to wear a zebra jersey ever again. He shouldn't even be able to work in a (darned) Foot Locker," Kelce said, referring to a controversial fourth fourth-quarter holding call on left tackle Eric Fisher that negated a two-point conversion that would have tied a game the Chiefs lost 18-16.
That behavior was part of what might be called a trend that included:
Throwing his towel towards a referee to mock a perceived non-call against Jacksonville (resulting in his ejection for a second unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty in the game and later a $24,309 fine).
Criticizing Reid's play-calling after a loss to Tennessee.
Pushing a football into Kyle Van Noy's groin at the end of a play in last season's opener at New England.
And a week later taunting the Eagles sideline and later flapping his arms to ridicule the Eagles' "Fly Eagles Fly" celebration.
It's hard not to laugh during some of this nonsense, of course, and it's stuff like that and his creative celebrations that inspired this headline to last year's GQ profile of Kelce: "How the NFL's Travis Kelce Became the Most Fun Guy in the No Fun League."
But it tended to make Kelce look ridiculous instead of fun, really, at times overshadowed brilliant talent and hunger for the game and made for a trap-door lurking any time an opponent felt like provoking Kelce.
Unchecked, it would be at odds with and could obscure the many good-hearted deeds Kelce performs off the field, from the work of his Eighty-Seven & Running foundation to empower disadvantaged youth to the Elite Pro Skills camp he held earlier this month in Olathe to partnering with health care provider Cigna to speak out on the dangers of opioids.
His voice in those important roles would lose something if he can't contain himself on the field _ just as his vast abilities are compromised when he succumbs to temperamental impulses.
Now, seemingly all grown up and accountable for his actions, the 2016 first-team All-Pro who has 307 catches for 3,900 and 22 touchdowns in his four full seasons stands at the threshold of true greatness.
Last season, he was part of just the fifth offense in NFL history to produce a 1,000-yard tight end, 1,000-yard rusher (Kareem Hunt) and 1,000-yard wide receiver (Tyreek Hill). Added to that mix is Sammy Watkins (192 catches for 3,052 yards and 25 touchdowns in four seasons), the promising Chris Conley back from injury and the bazooka-armed Mahomes.
"I think we're going to open everything up for each other," Kelce said. "Pat's got quite an arsenal."
Especially if Kelce extends the equilibrium he found a year ago by embracing the role he believes he should play as, suddenly, one of the most seasoned Chiefs.
"It's cool to kind of hear and see some of the younger guys come to me on some questions and hearing that my opinion does matter to them," he said, later adding that as a leader "every single day you've got to bring it" and "kind of lead by action more than words."
