KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce will miss the Chiefs’ season opener after team physicians confirmed he is pregnant, making him the first NFL player sidelined under the league’s expectant-athlete protocol. The tight end, 36, reported fatigue during training camp and asked that it not be treated as a character issue. A subsequent evaluation found what the club described as “a developing situation inconsistent with a Week 1 snap count.” Coach Andy Reid said the offense would adjust. “We’ll get the ball to other people,” Reid said. “He’s got a lot on his plate.” The NFL Players Association hailed the ruling as overdue. “For years the league pretended only one kind of body could be unavailable in September,” a union statement said. “Travis has closed that loophole.” The league office noted that the collective bargaining agreement does not specify sex, only “medical inability to perform,” and declined to litigate the biology on a conference call. Teammates were supportive and careful. Patrick Mahomes said he was happy for Kelce and would check the protection schemes. “If he needs a snack, we’ll get him a snack,” Mahomes said. Taylor Swift was not at the podium. A representative said she was “processing the news like everyone else.” Opposing defenses issued statements of respect and requested film of the pregnancy so they could game-plan the middle of the field. One coordinator asked whether Kelce would still be eligible for the tight end two-point package in the AFC title game. The league said that would depend on the due date and the playoffs. Kelce has not indicated a timetable for return. The Chiefs placed him on the expectant list, which does not count against the 53-man roster and cannot be challenged unless someone is willing to say the quiet part on television. Analysts agreed the story was historic. They disagreed on whether it belonged in sports or lifestyle. The opener will proceed without him. The child, if the diagnosis holds, will be the first in NFL history whose father missed Week 1 for the same reason teams have long reserved for mothers. The league called that progress. The standing room at Arrowhead called it a delay of game. The post Travis Kelce first NFL player to miss opener because he’s pregnant appeared first on Genesius Times.