Travis Kelce’s latest lateral delights, no longer surprises Chiefs teammates

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oops, he did it again — and apologies to all the Swifties for referencing a different pop star!

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Future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce caught a short pass over the middle late in the first half Monday during the Kansas City Chiefs’ 26-13 win against the New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

As he ran toward the visitors’ sideline from right to left with three defenders closing in, Kelce shifted the ball to his right hand and underhanded a lateral to running back Samaje Perine.

“I can neither confirm nor deny whether that’s in the playbook,” said Kelce, who finished with nine catches for 70 yards.

In the box score, Patrick Mahomes was credited with a 20-yard pass. Kelce had one catch for 5 yards, while Perine had 15 receiving yards but no catch.

“I’m shaking my head because I told him before the play, ‘I’m going to throw it to you so we can get in field-goal range,’ and he underhand shoveled it across the entire field,” Mahomes said. “It’s like I’m talking to [my daughter] Sterling.”

After the laughter stopped, Mahomes continued, “No, that’s Travis, man. He’s a special player. As long as he does it and it works, no one’s going to say a thing.”

Perine said he’d never been on the receiving end of a famed Kelce lateral, but he’s seen it enough in practice to know anything was possible as he barreled across the field.

“It was not scripted,” Perine said. “I can tell you that much. I saw him do it a couple times; he does it in practice. So, I was like, ‘Let me stay in phase just in case.’ And sure enough, I saw him switch the ball, wind his arm back and I was ready for it.”

Charlie Riedel/AP

Perine said you always have to be ready when Kelce’s running with the ball, though it makes him an NFL unicorn.

Asked if he’d ever had another teammate so free with the backward passes, Perine could only smile and laugh: “No, never.” He added, “He’s playing backyard football. To experience it firsthand was crazy; it was fun.”

It’s not the first time Kelce’s pulled off the lateral in a game.

Five years ago, he lateraled to LeSean McCoy during a win in Detroit.

Kelce pulled it off for a first down to fellow tight end Noah Gray last season against Denver.

Perhaps most famously, Kelce lateraled to Kadarius Toney for a possible game-winning touchdown last season only to have the play wiped away by a penalty.

“We do it every day [in practice] and he does a great job with the decision to do that or not do it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “If he doesn’t do well with it, I tell him just don’t come back to the bench.”

Perine called it a “routine play” for Kelce that he’s seen from his first practice in Kansas City.

“I’ve seen him do the exact same thing in practice, so you just stay in phase and be ready for anything,” Perine said. “And I’ve seen him do it in a game, so I didn’t put it past him.”

Everyone on the Chiefs’ offense knows that Kelce’s creativity knows no bounds.

“You just never know when it’s coming — and it’s like a video game,” Smith-Schuster said. “... I need to start being behind Trav so I can get more yards.”

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