The Chiefs are moving on to the Super Bowl, but the pregame drama from their win over the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game is brewing.
Travis Kelce shared his side of the story about an interaction with Justin Tucker during warmups ahead of Sunday’s game on the most recent episode of his podcast, calling out the Ravens kicker for how he handled the situation. He explained that Tucker came onto the Chiefs’ side of the field and got in the way of what he and Patrick Mahomes were doing, which was why they tossed Tucker’s kicking tripod to the side.
“If you’re trying to go on to the other team’s designated area, you kind of stay out of their way,” Kelce said on the “New Heights” podcast. “You don’t interfere with what they have going on. That’s the unwritten rule.
“If you want to be a f—ing dick about it, you keep your helmet and your football and your f—ing kicking tee right where the quarterbacks are warming up and they’re dropping. Their eyes are looking left and they got a helmet down by their feet. Like, if you’re not going to pick that up, I’ll happily move that for you.”
Tucker told reporters Monday that he hadn’t been through an experience like that one in his 12 NFL seasons. He also said there wasn’t initially a problem with Mahomes, saying he obliged the quarterback’s request to move his helmet out of the way but things escalated when Kelce made his way over.
“I happily got up and moved my helmet out of the way, at least I thought it was enough out of the way,” Tucker said. “And then Travis comes over and he just kicks my stuff, he throws my helmet. I thought it was all just some gamesmanship, all in good fun. But they seemed to be taking it a little more seriously.”
Mahomes, however, viewed the situation a little differently. In an interview with 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City, the Chiefs quarterback said that all three times he can ever recall a kicker getting in the way like that came in Baltimore as he shared his side of the story.
“He does that little stuff, I think, to try to get under our skin,” Mahomes said. “I asked him to move his stuff. He got up and moved it, I think, two inches but didn’t move it out of the way. I was gonna let it slide, but Travis got in and moved it for me. And after that, I wasn’t gonna let him put it back down.
“I have a lot of respect for him as a player, one of the best kickers of all time, probably the best kicker of all time. But at the same time, you’ve got to have respect for each team, and we all share the field, and we try to do that in a respectful way.”
Mahomes agreed with Tucker’s notion that the situation was being treated as a “bigger deal” than it really was. Additionally, Kelce understood where Tucker was coming from, but he didn’t want to deal with any antics or shenanigans that day.
“Justin came out and he said it was more of a joking gesture and kind of a fun competitive [thing],” Kelce said. “I get it. I mean he was kind of winking at me like being a dick about it, like trying to get under the skin.
“But me and Pat, we were having the same mentality for this game all week long. It was a, ‘You’ve got to go in there and have the right mind strain,’ mindset. We just weren’t in a joking mood. We were ready to get after it.”
“So Justin, sorry if we took it to a level that you didn’t think it’d get to that day],” Kelce said. “But if you’re gonna be a dick, I promise you. I can one-up you every time.”
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