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Chris “Mad Dog” Russo took time Wednesday to blast Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce for not talking to the press after the team’s 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in which quarterback Patrick Mahomes tore his season-ending ACL.
Russo even featured on Kelce’s popular “New Heights” podcast in the process.
During a segment on ESPN’s “First Take,” Russo was upset that Kelce didn’t take time to talk to the media after the loss that eliminated Kansas City from the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
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Chris “Mad Dog” Russo speaks on SiriusXM at Super Bowl LVIII. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
It was certainly a rough day for the Chiefs, but Russo thought Kelce shouldn’t have joked with the media.
“I could care less about his stupid podcast, but what about Kelce on Sunday afternoon?” Russo joked to begin his lengthy rant. “They just lose the game and Mahomes tears his ACL. The last play of the game, [Gardner] Minshew goes to Kelce to try to kick a field goal and is intercepted. Kelce, after he settles down in the locker room, says, ‘Not today guys, I don’t want to talk to you.’ The media.
“Wait a minute, time out! We have these poor guys who have covered the Chiefs for years, who go to every training camp, every preseason game. Every day for seven months they cover the football team and you blow them off at the end of this game when they got Mahomes out, maybe the last game you’ll ever play. You don’t want to give them three words for them, you can’t give them three words for. Don’t you know what I’m going to do with my career, hope you that Pat’s going to be OK, when you walk out the door you say, ‘Not today,’ and you don’t talk to the press.
JASON KELCE DESPERATELY PLEADS NFL TEAMS TO DROP HALFTIME DOG ACT
To end the argument, Russo claimed that no “serious sports fan” listens to “New Heights.”
“Look, I understand you have your brother and you do the podcast. I get that,” Russo said. “Maybe you want to save the exclusive news. But no serious sports fan listens to that crap anyway. This is a situation where it’s a Sunday afternoon and we want to hear from you. Mahomes is out for the year, you might not play again. The season is over. You lost and you’re not going to the playoffs.”
The Chiefs still have three games left, but it’s a sad time for the franchise that has made it to the last three Super Bowls as AFC champions.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce hangs his head on his way off the field after an NFL game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs on December 14, 2025 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire)
It was also reported by NFL Network that Mahomes tore his LCL as well as his ACL, which could complicate recovery.
He underwent a successful operation with Dr. Dan Cooper in Dallas on Monday. The Chiefs hope Mahomes can return for the start of the 2026 season, but his recovery could take longer than nine months.
To Russo’s point, however, Kelce’s future with the franchise is still up in the air. He said earlier this season that he would let the Chiefs know his decision about potential retirement before the new league year begins in March.
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But Kelce still has three games left with the rest of his teammates, so it’s unlikely he would take a spot through these final weeks, even if the playoffs are out of reach.
Kelce, in his 13th NFL season with the Chiefs, has 67 catches for 797 yards and five touchdowns through 14 games this season.
