The Kansas City Chiefs are opening the 2023 NFL season, taking on the Detroit Lions on Thursday, September 7. Kansas City had a relatively clean bill of health heading into the week until star tight end Travis Kelce hyper-extended his knee in practice on Tuesday. He is dealing with a bone bruise but appears to have avoided a long-term injury. Still, despite testing his injury in pregame warmups, Kelce will be ruled INACTIVE for Thursday night’s contest.
#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce will be OUT for tonight’s game vs. the Detroit Lions due to his knee injury, per @Schultz_Report. The safe move with 10 days until the next game and a full season to go.
This will be Kelce’s first career game missed due to injury since 2013. pic.twitter.com/88teXxdXNw— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 7, 2023
The report suggests that Kelce tried his best to show he could go during warm-ups, but the team is cognizant that this is game one of 17. This will be the first game that Kelce has missed in about a decade. He will be replaced in the offense by Noah Gray, with Patrick Mahomes likely to rely more on Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and rookie Rashee Rice.
From a fantasy football perspective, your top pick is likely out of your lineup this week. You will need to pivot at tight end and look to slot in either a backup or someone off of waivers. Noah Gray is an option for DFS, but he is way too risky of a fantasy football play.