Travis Kelce has taken a note from Taylor Swift’s song “You Need to Calm Down” and calling out Ravens kicker Justin Tucker for his pregame drama. Before Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, a moment went viral when Justin Tucker set up his kicking tee right in front of Chief’s QB Patrick Mahomes.
Various videos show Mahomes and Kelce moving the tees and football and even throwing Tucker’s helmet off to the side to give Mahomes “room” to do his drills. The videos that surfaced didn’t seem to be a great look for Mahomes or Kelce, as they only showed what appeared to be two players being rude to the kicker, just trying to warm up.
Travis Kelce on the Defense
While on his own podcast, New Heights , Travis Kelce discussed what happened on Sunday and shared why he felt that he didn’t do anything wrong. He shared the following:
“I love how I’m getting painted as the bad guy..Keep keep your helmet and your football and your f—ing kicking tee right where the quarterbacks are warming up,” Kelce said on the podcast. “If you’re not going to pick that up, I’ll happily move that for you.”
Travis Kelce did later go on to say that the moment didn’t lead to any long-term issues and that by the time it actually started, everyone was good with each other again.
“I think if you see the whole interaction, and then you see us at the coin toss – we’re all dapping each other up and then we just get on with the football game. “
Despite this, Justin Tucker doesn’t seem so sure that Travis Kelce wasn’t being a little over the top. In his own interview, Tucker shared the following:
“I’m totally willing to let it all go, but I just wanted to explain that that’s just what I have done for 12 years and it’s not like I’m out there trying to be problematic. I’m just out there trying to get ready for the football game, just like they are. And that’s all I’ve really got to say about it, just to be clear.”
Who Was in the Wrong?
According to the NFL rules, “Kickers and punters will have priority on the field prior to the scheduled start time for the Official team Warm-Up.”. According to this, Tucker did, in fact, have the right to be where he was, and if Mahomes and Kelce wanted to get additional warmups, they should have moved to a different part of the field that was not being occupied.
At the same time, moving back five yards or so doesn’t seem like a reason to be stubborn and not move. Tucker is one of the best kickers in the entire nation, and setting up field goals at the five-yard line vs the ten-yard line surely wouldn’t make much difference in his accuracy or ability to complete a drill.
But in the end, you can see the video for yourself and decide. Did Kelce and Mahomes overreact, or were their actions justified?
Travis Kelce tossed Justin Tucker’s helmet out of the way so Mahomes could warm up
Tucker might bomb a 75yd FG today
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 28, 2024
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