Justin Tucker Hints At Travis Kelce Taking Things A Bit Too Far When Throwing His Helmet During Pregame Warmups

Justin Tucker has played 195 games in the NFL, meaning he's gone through his warmup routine 195 times, but having an opposing player throw his helmet out of the way like Travis Kelce did ahead of the AFC Championship game was a first.

Before kickoff in Baltimore, Tucker began his typical warmup routine on the Chiefs' side of the field, which is common practice. While stretching near the endzone and next to Patrick Mahomes and Kelce, the tight end decided to toss Tucker's helmet and footballs a few yards out of frame.

During his end-of-season interview on Monday, the legendary kicker shared his thoughts about the now-viral moment. Tucker made it clear that Mahomes was cordial about it before hinting that Kelce was taking the whole situation too seriously.

"The way it works is each team’s kicker goes to the other team’s designated warmup area on the field,” Tucker told reporters.

“For me, it’s usually 90 mins before kickoff. I’ve been doing the exact same thing for 12 years, never really had a problem with anybody. I saw Patrick there trying to warm up and get some dropbacks. He asked me while I was on the ground stretching if I could move my helmet.

“I happily got up and I moved my helmet out of the way — at least I thought it was enough out of the way — and then Travis comes over and just kicks my stuff and throws my helmet. I thought it was all just some gamesmanship, all in good fun, but they seemed to be taking it a little bit more seriously.”

“I’m totally willing to let it all go,” Tucker continued. “But that’s just what I’ve done for 12 years and it’s not like I’m out there trying to be problematic. I’m just trying to get ready for the football game, just like they are, and that’s all I really gotta say about it, just to be clear."

Tucker took it in stride when Kelce decided to put his hands on his equipment, cracking a smile, and it clearly wasn't weighing on him 24ish hours later following his team's loss.

If it were a random Chiefs player and not a future Hall of Famer such as Kelce tossing his equipment perhaps Tucker would have made a bigger deal out of it. The fact that the Ravens lost the game doesn't give him all that much room to talk, either.