Travis Kelce Surpasses Antonio Gates to Become Tight End with 3rd-Most Receiving Yards in NFL History

The Chiefs tight end surpassed Gates when he made a 19-yard reception against the Panthers on Nov. 24

Travis Kelce can add another accomplishment to his resumé!

During the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, Nov. 24, the 35-year-old tight end caught a pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, resulting in a 19-yard reception. Kelce surpassed Los Angeles Chargers legend Antonio Gates to become the tight end with the third-most receiving yards in NFL history.

Gates’ record is 11,841 receiving yards, and Kelce now has 11,854 yards.

The only two NFL tight ends who hold more receiving yards than Kelce are Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten with 13,046 yards and former Chiefs player Tony Gonzalez with 15,127 yards.

Kelce holds a number of other NFL records, including the tight end to get the most receiving yards in a single season when he had 1,416 yards in 2020. He also made it to 10,000 receiving yards faster than any player ever.

The game show host also holds the record for the most overall seasons with 1,000 receiving yards by a tight end, and he has taken home that title every season for the past seven years.

Although Kelce still has a few thousand receiving yards to go in order to surpass Gonzalez’s record, Kelce beat the former Falcons player out for another title: The longest pass-catching streak in Chiefs’ history, catching passes in 158 consecutive games.

Despite his most recent accomplishment, the athlete admitted that he didn’t feel like he played to the best of his ability when Kansas City lost to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Nov. 17.

Travis Kelce during a game against the Denver Broncos on Nov. 10, 2024.Perry Knotts/Getty

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The NFL star expressed his frustration while recapping their 21-30 loss during the Nov. 20 episode of his podcast New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce.

The tight end told his brother, Jason Kelce, that he gets “fired up” each time the Chiefs take on the “best” teams in the NFL like the Bills — who currently top the AFC East with a 9-2 record.

While he was “fired up for this one,” Travis said — referring to the match against the Bills — he admitted, “I didn’t play my best.”

“And that s—, it pisses me off, and it made me, you know, go right back into work on Monday after the game and get after it and find a way to make s— right,” he continued,

“I think this is something that you won’t see out of us in the future. A lot of this s— is very fixable and I’ve got all the faith in the world in this team,” he added.