KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said on Wednesday's episode of the New Heights Podcast that he and Patrick Mahomes "weren't in a joking mood" when Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker warmed up alongside the Chiefs.
Cameras caught Kelce tossing Tucker's helmet, footballs and kicking tees to the side during pregame warmups after they were left on the goal line, where Mahomes and the Chiefs offense also were warming up for the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium.
"We do our same warmup every time on our side of the field," Kelce said. "For those of you who don't know what happens in pregames, the Ravens have their side of the field and the Chiefs have our side of the field."
Kelce acknowledged that special-teams players, including kickers and punters, often use both sides of the field during pregame warmups.
"If you're trying to go onto the other team's designated area, you kind of stay out of their way," Kelce said. "You don't interfere with what they have going on. That's the unwritten rule."
Kelce said on New Heights — an immensely popular weekly podcast he does with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce — that Tucker said he was trying to warm up near the Chiefs as a joking gesture.
"And I get it, he was kind of winking at me ... trying to get under the skin," Travis Kelce said. "If you're not going to pick that up, I'll happily move that for you."
Travis Kelce said he and Mahomes were trying to enter the game in the right mindset and "weren't in a joking mood."
"Listen, it worked, it got under your skin," Jason Kelce said on the podcast. "But it worked in the wrong way, because it was a record day for the Yeti."
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"Justin, sorry if we took it to a level that you didn't think it'd get to that way," Travis Kelce said.
Before his encounter with Tucker, Mahomes was spotted kicking Tucker's tee away.
At this point in time, the field was open for players to practice wherever they'd like, but — as Travis Kelce pointed out — Tucker seemed to be knowlingly breaking an unwritten rule by setting up in the middle of the Chiefs' pregame work.
"This feels like an easy 'Where do you need me to go,' move out of the way two yards type-thing on Justin Tucker's side, personally," ESPN analyst and former NFL punter Pat McAfee said on ESPN's Pat McAfee Show.
Mahomes told 610 Sports host Carrington Harrison that he's only had an issue with an opposing kicker attempting to interfere with his pregame routine three times in his NFL career. All three times were against Tucker and the Ravens.
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