Travis Kelce suffering from bone bruise, according to Jason Kelce: 'I think he's going to be good to go'

The status of star Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was thrown into flux on Tuesday when he hyperextended his knee in practice. The injury threw his availability for the season opener against the Detroit Lions on Thursday into doubt.

A day ahead of the opener, Kelce’s older brother, Jason, spoke with the “WIP Morning Show” in Philadelphia about his brother’s knee. Overall, things are trending in the right direction for what Jason explained as a hyperextension and associated bone bruise.

“I know he’s got some swelling going on. But it sounds like as long as they can get that down, he’s going to have a chance to go. The ligaments and everything are intact. Structurally, from what we know right now, his knee’s fine. So really it’s about getting that swelling down and seeing how bruised that bone is,” Jason said. “Because if you guys have ever had those, it can be pretty painful, especially if it’s in a spot that’s rubbing all the time, then that can kind of shut down your muscles and do other things.”

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday morning that Kelce was also suffering from a bone bruise as a result of his injury.

However, older brother things younger brother will be ready to play come Thursday night.

“But, I think he’s going to be good to go. I really do,” Jason said.

He even shared a story about the time he suffered a similar injury to the one his brother is currently dealing with.

You just plant or you do something and your knee hyperextends. Actually, let me be truthful, the last time I did this I was making a bonfire outside and I thought I was strong enough to kick a piece of wood in half an I hyperextended my knee, did the same thing. Bone bruise. So, you know,” Kelce said, getting cut off and asked about not missing any games. “It was in the middle of the season but my knee did swell up and I was like, ‘Man, that was the dumbest thing I’ve done in a long time.'”

Kelce’s status for Thursday was ‘in doubt’ as of Tuesday afternoon

According to Rapoport, the injury is not believed to be a long-term one, but leaves his status for the Lions game “in doubt.” Kelce hasn’t missed a game due to injury since the 2013 season.

Head coach Andy Reid provided an update on Kelce’s status after he hyper-extended his knee at practice.

“They are looking at it now, so we’ll see how it goes,” Reid said. “The next guy steps in, and we roll; that’s what you do if that’s the case.”

With the chances of star defensive lineman Chris Jones playing in Thursday’s game looking murky at best due to him and the Chiefs being at a contract impasse, the potential loss of Kelce would be a devastating development for the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Kelce, 33, finished the 2022 season with a career-high 110 receptions for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns. He added another 27 catches for 257 yards and four scores in the playoffs on his way to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in his career.

Although his designation is tight end, Kelce has been the second-most productive pass-catcher in the NFL over the last seven years. He’s topped 1,000 yards in each season since 2016, and is just 101 yards shy of the Las Vegas Raiders’ Davante Adams‘ total in that span. In total, he’s amassed 10,334 career receiving yards, 814 receptions and 69 touchdowns during his career.