George Kittle's NFL record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season went up in smoke recently thanks to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But Kittle isn't upset about it at all, to say the least.
As a matter of fact, Kittle told reporters during a media session today he's excited about Kelce's success and that he's already looking forward to trying to recapture the record next season.
"I'm happy that he broke my record because it gives me something else to go after again next year. That's what I'm looking forward to," Kittle said.
Kittle previously set the mark in 2018 when he hauled in 88 passes for 1,377 yards and five touchdowns. Kittle set his record by catching nine passes for 149 yards during the final game of the 2018 season, surpassing a mark of 1,336 yards that Kelce set earlier in the day. Kelce needed only 15 games to break the record this time around, setting the new mark with a seven-catch/98-yard/one-touchdown performance in a Chiefs win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. Kelce now has a whopping 105 catches for 1,416 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. Those numbers may well stand through Week 17 due to the Chiefs being likely to rest some starters after clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Breaking Kelce's new record won't be easy, but if anyone can do it, it's Kittle. And maybe it won't be the last time Kittle finds himself chasing Kelce's numbers during his career.
"I think he's going to continue to break records and continue to set the bar. It gives all of us other tight ends something else to chase," Kittle said.
Since Kittle joined the NFL in 2017, he and Kelce have become friends and remain in regular contact. Kelce has expressed admiration for Kittle's success in the past, while Kittle made it clear today he still holds Kelce in very high regard.
"Me and Travis, we stay in contact probably once a week, maybe every other week, but we have for probably the last two years, just hyping each other up, trying to get each other to have good games," Kittle said. "I'm so happy that Travis is playing the way that he is. Like I said multiple times, I looked up to Travis Kelce when I was in college. I still look up to Travis Kelce now.
"This entire year, he has raised the bar of the tight end and what they can do, especially receiving-wise. He's what, like 56 yards away from leading the NFL in receiving yards for the first time ever by a tight end? That's awesome. Every time that he does something great or (Raiders tight end) Darren Waller does something great or tight ends play at a high level, it just elevates the bar for tight ends and raises the standard for tight ends."
So while 49ers fans may not like the thought of one of their own players no longer having such an impressive record, it'll probably be a good thing in the long run. It'll serve as more motivation for Kittle, who doesn't seem ready to let Kelce put his tight end records out of reach.
"He's raised the bar. He's raised the standard," Kittle said. "If guys don't compete with that, he's just going to run away with it. So it's really fun to watch a tight end like that succeed at such a high level and play at such a high level week in and week out. He's one of my favorite players in the NFL to watch, and I think honestly he should really be up for offensive player of the year because the things that he's doing as a tight end is actually amazing."
