The star tight end is the only player in the tight end room who is a lock to play the position this September" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteArrowhead PrideArrowhead Pride | Kansas City Chiefs Schedule Harrison Butker Jersey , News, Roster and StatsLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpSeriesLatest NewsFanpostsFanshotsCommunityAboutStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteSeries Stagner ThingsLottery Tickets ¡¯19Summer of SpagsDixon¡¯s MailbagLatest News Fanposts Most recentMost activeFanshots Community Community GuidelinesContactAbout StubHub ✕Filed under:Kansas City Chiefs NewsChiefs tight end Travis Kelce should be ready to play by training campNew,18commentsThe star tight end is the only player in the tight end room who is a lock to play the position this SeptemberCDTShareTweetShareShareChiefs tight end Travis Kelce should be ready to play by training campPhoto by Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesThe Kansas City Chiefs now have seven tight ends on their 90-man roster ¡ª Travis Kelce is a lock as the starter. The Chiefs will carry two ¡ª possibly three ¡ª tight ends on the final roster when the season begins.So six players are competing for one or two roster spots ¡ª the heaviest competition at any position on the team ¡ª but right now, the Chiefs are having trouble putting very many of them on the field for OTAs.Thus far, Kelce has been held out of offseason practices because of the ankle surgery he had after last season.But according to head coach Andy Reid ¡ª who spoke to the media after the team¡¯s OTA session on Thursday ¡ª two more were sidelined.¡°There are a couple of guys that are nicked up just a little bit,¡± he said. ¡°Blake Bell¡¯s back locked up on him ¡ª just spasms ¡ª so he didn¡¯t practice today.¡±Bell, a former Oklahoma Sooner quarterback who converted to tight end in his final college season, came to the Chiefs after stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers ¡ª who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.But Reid said another one of his bevy of tight ends was kept out of practice on Thursday.¡°Deon Yelder, the tight end, had a little bit of a hamstring strain,¡± Reid said. ¡°He¡¯s just precautionary ¡ª keeping him out today and we¡¯ll see how things go down the road with him.¡±Yelder ¡ª an undrafted free agent out of Western Kentucky ¡ª spent the first part of the 2018 season on the New Orleans Saints practice squad.Released by the Saints in early October, he was signed to the Chiefs practice squad and promoted to the active roster a few weeks later.He saw special teams action in three games last season.That leaves John Lovett, David Wells, Joe Fortson and Nick Keizer ¡ª the latter signed just a week ago after being released by the Baltimore Ravens.¡°We just signed a new kid Demarcus Robinson Jersey , Keizer, and actually he¡¯s doing a nice job,¡± Reid told the press on Thursday. ¡°Wells is in there too doing well. We¡¯ve mixed both of our fullbacks in to take some reps there and they¡¯re doing a nice job likewise.¡±Both of their fullbacks?Former Green Bay Packers fullback Aaron Ripkowski had been one of the Chiefs¡¯ early offseason signings, but he was released several weeks ago; only longtime Chief Anthony Sherman is listed as a fullback on the current Chiefs roster.Reid¡¯s words suggested that Lovett ¡ª another converted quarterback whom the Chiefs had previously said was getting work at the fullback position ¡ª might be seen by Chiefs coaches as more of a fullback than a tight end (perhaps even an H-back, if you will).Reid¡¯s next statement amplified that idea.¡°If you¡¯re going to play fullback here you¡¯re also going to have to play tight end,¡± Reid said. ¡°All in all, they¡¯re getting great work. With Travis not being able to practice they¡¯re getting great work.¡±Reid¡¯s statements provide some hints about how the Chiefs might intend to structure the 53-man roster in 2019.The Chiefs carried just two tight ends in 2018, but they could decide to keep an extra one this season if that player could also serve as a fullback.Or to put it another way, the Chiefs could decide to keep two fullbacks ¡ª one of whom could also be used as a tight end.As always, Reid likes to keep opposing defenses guessing. That kind of versatility built into his offensive roster could add another layer of uncertainty to what the Chiefs might do when a particular group of offensive players is on the field.But one thing remains certain: Kelce will be the starter at tight end.Reid was asked if Kelce would be ready for the mandatory minicamp that begins June 11.¡°I don¡¯t think next week,¡± Reid replied. ¡°I think you¡¯ll probably see him at training camp.¡± The Jacksonville Jaguars were so confident in their future behind Blake Bortles that they selected running back Leonard Fournette rather than a quarterback with the No. 4 pick in last year's draft.They could have had Patrick Mahomes, who went six spots later to Kansas City.The two quarterbacks ¡ª for Jacksonville, what is and could have been ¡ª were both on display Sunday, and Bortles responded with an afternoon to forget.He threw four interceptions, was stripped while getting sacked Sammy Watkins Jersey , turned the ball over twice more on downs and generally had all kinds of trouble with the NFL's worst defense in a 30-14 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium ."I can't throw four picks," he said. "Hard to win when you turn the ball over that many times."Now, the Jaguars (3-2) are hardly going to give up on Bortles, especially after leading them to the AFC title game last year. But in a showdown between two of the top contenders to reach it this year, the former first-round pick put the weight of the loss squarely on his shoulders."We had a little bit of bad fortune. Had a tipped pick in the end zone, had a screen get picked. Got to find a way to see that and not let that happen," said Bortles, who finished 33 of 61 for 430 yards and accounted for two TDs, though most of that offense came as the Jaguars played from behind."It's stuff we've got to try to eliminate. It's a group effort," he said. "We all got to lock in and be better. But I think we've got a chance to get hot now and go win three in a row."As for Mahomes? He threw for 313 yards and ran for a touchdown against the league's No. 1 defense, and made so many improvisational plays that it left several Jacksonville defenders tipping their caps."He's a good kid. They got a good thing going up here," Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. "They got a lot of weapons. They got a lot of trick 'em stuff. They're good. I can't really sit here and talk mess, because they beat us, so they're good."It wasn't exactly a fair fight, at least where Bortles is concerned.Fournette was inactive with a hamstring injury Anthony Hitchens Jersey , and the Jaguars lost backup Corey Grant during the game, leaving their running attack to banged-up T.J. Yeldon and journeyman Brandon Wilds.Throw in an injury to left tackle Josh Wells and their offense became one-dimensional.Then there was the sieve-like showing of the offensive line, which allowed five sacks and 11 hurries to a defense that had been ranked last in the NFL in yards allowed. If not for some nifty escape moves by Bortles, he probably would have gone down another handful of times."We've just got to do a better job. We've got to protect better, we've got to make better throws, we've got to make catches down there when we have it," Marrone said, lamenting their inability to score in the red zone in particular. "I think everyone knows we all have to do a better job down there."What makes the performance Sunday even more maddening was the fact that Jacksonville was coming off 30-12 victory over the New York Jets in which Bortles and the offense were crisp and efficient, and that in turn came after a 9-6 loss to the Tennessee Titans in which they could do little right."We have to find a way to make plays early, sustain drives and get it rolling," Bortles said. "I felt like we waited until we were down in a bad place and decided we wanted to play, and we can't let that happen. We have to start from the beginning, at the first snap, playing as hard as we can play to do everything we can to be successful and score points."