Travis Kelce has been hailed as the āgreatest of all timeā upon his return from a whirlwind offseason spent with girlfriend Taylor Swift.
Following the Chiefsā Super Bowl win in February ā their second straight championship, Kelce followed pop star Swift throughout Europe on her Eras Tour.
The tight end even made an onstage cameo during her show at Londonās Wembley Stadium, while he was also seen at shows in Amsterdam and Dublin.
Now, though, Kelce is back at Chiefs camp ā with a new facial hair look ā and ESPN host Pat McAfee singled him out for praise after an impressive start to training camp.
āHeās just had an incredible offseason, literally taking over the entire globe. Shows up looking like that [with a mustache], then heās scoring touchdowns, outrunning everybody,ā McAfee said on hisĀ eponymous show.
āHeāll be doing that until heās 65 years old. That is why heās the greatest tight end of all-time whenever itās all said and done. You look at his stats, you look what heās accomplished.ā
Kelceās numbers certainly stack up to the all-time greats at the position, as heās fourth all-time among tight ends with 11,328 receiving yards ā though nearly 4,000 behind leader Tony Gonzalez.
Heās also tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns at his position, and would need 43 more to surpass Antonio Gates.
Nonetheless, the 34-year-old is still going strong for the Chiefs, and showed off his strong connection with quarterback Patrick Mahomes Sunday at practice.
Mahomes found his favorite target over the middle of the field for an eventual touchdown as Kelce scampered away from several defenders into the end zone.
The pair will hope to make history this season as the Chiefs go for a historic three-peat.
Kansas City has added Marquise āHollywoodā Brown and first-rounder Xavier Worthy to its receiving corps, giving the otherworldly Mahomes even more weapons to work with.
āIf they become the first-ever three-time Super Bowl champion in back to back to back yearsā¦ youāre gonna have to put a lot of people on this team in on Mount Rushmores at every single position,ā McAfee added.
On Monday, Kelce was given a warm welcome by Chiefs fans as he was met with huge cheers during the teamās second day of training camp.
The tight end certainly kept busy this offseason as he followed Swiftās Eras Tour, and left his return to the States fairly late.
He was spotted by fans of the singer in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on Wednesday ā just four days before he had to report to Chiefs training camp.
That was the 13th appearance at one of his girlfriendās shows since they started dating last summer.
Kelceās coach, Andy Reid, recently commented about his playerās relationship with Swift, and opined that both parties enjoy being in the background at times.
āI think itās great for him. He can handle it. As a matter of fact, I think he probably loves it to a point. I think thereās a great escape for him,ā Reid said on the Scoop City podcast.
āI said that about Taylor, too. I mean, she comes to the game, she can kind of escape having to be the show. When he goes to her concerts, sheās the star.ā
Kelce and the Chiefs now have six weeks to prepare for their first game vs. the Ravens on September 5.