Travis Kelce reflected on how his Hall of Fame-worthy NFL career got off to a rocky start.
The 34-year-old star tight end, selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, didn’t seem to make the best impression in every interview at the combine.
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With the combine currently underway in Indianapolis, here’s a clip from the podcast “New Heights,” which Travis co-hosts with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason, discussing the interview process on X (formerly Twitter) reappeared in.
“I had some terrible interviews at the combine,” Travis recalled in March 2023.
” [Dallas] The Cowboys came at me about me missing a year and smoking pot, which was a red flag. ”
In 2010, while a member of the Cincinnati Bearcats, Travis tested positive for marijuana and was forced to sit out the season.
“I don’t know if it was a bad morning or what was going on, but basically it just…I don’t even know if I want to say this, but it happened really quickly,” he continued.
“That meeting ended really quickly. Meetings are usually 15 minutes long, but I was there for about five minutes.
“I basically just said, ‘If you guys think I’m going to be that person, or I’ve fought so much to get to this point, I’m still going to be that person. If you’re wondering if I’m human or not, ‘I’ve already missed the season, you guys are probably going to go somewhere else and pick someone else.’ And that’s exactly what they did. That’s the thing.”
The Cowboys ultimately selected tight end Gavin Escobar out of San Diego State in the second round.
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After four seasons with Dallas, he bounced around the league for two years with the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, and Chiefs.
Escobar’s last appearance for the San Diego Fleet was in the Alliance of American Football Spring League.
Tragically, he died in a rock climbing accident in September 2022, according to CBS News.
”[The Cowboys] was trying to find [successor] For Jason Witten.Yeah, and that interview fell through,” Travis said.
He added: “It’s not that they didn’t think Gavin was a better player going into the interview.
“Who knows what it actually was? But I know I wasn’t helping myself with it. In every other meeting, I stayed the entire 15 minutes.” .”
But even though Travis’ interview with the Chiefs lasted for (supposedly) the entire 15 minutes, it appears he didn’t finish his hopeful discussion.
“To be honest, it didn’t even feel like they were really interviewing me,” he admitted.
“I felt like everyone knew you (Jason) so well, so I was like, ‘Okay, let’s interview the family.’
“It felt like I was in a room with my extended family talking about football, you know what I mean?
“It didn’t even feel like a real interview. So I walked out of the room saying, ‘The Chiefs don’t need me because I was one of their favorite players’ younger brothers. ”
“Little did I know they were looking for a tense ending.”
Drafted by general manager John Dorsey and recently departed Eagles head coach Andy Reid, who also drafted Jason, Travis played in just one game as a rookie due to injury.
In 2014, Travis assumed the starting role after Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez retired.
Since then, he has had one of the most impressive careers in league history by a wide margin.
A nine-time Pro Bowler, Travis was named first-team All-Pro four times, second-team All-Pro three times, and won three Super Bowls.
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