How Travis Kelce stood by a struggling teammate through deep trauma and painful memories that followed him from college to NFL life(Image via Getty Images)
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was carrying painful memories from his college years when he joined the Chiefs in 2020. During The Pivot Podcast episode released on November 8, 2024, he recalled how Kelce would send him random texts to make sure he was okay, even during his first NFL season in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions kept players more isolated.
Edwards-Helaire said he sometimes could not stop vomiting, became severely dehydrated and needed hospital treatment. Edwards-Helaire said Kelce and Kadarius Toney could recognize when his behavior changed. “They’ll know ahead of time like, ‘OK, Clyde’s not laughing, he’s not giggling, he’s not himself,’” Edwards-Helaire said after Chiefs practice on August 1, 2024. “The only person that’ll do those things and make sure and reach out and text me on random days, was Travis,” Edwards-Helaire said on the podcast. Edwards-Helaire called Kelce his “big brother” and said he needed somebody to lean on. Kelce also gave him the nickname GBC, meaning “Good Brother Clyde.”
Travis Kelce has spent years as one of the biggest names in Kansas City, but his most personal impact on a teammate had little to do with football. As those struggles followed him into the NFL, Kelce noticed changes that other people could miss. He checked on him, stayed close and became someone Edwards-Helaire could lean on when life away from football became difficult. The symptoms could become physical. Yet his teammates did not always need him to explain what was happening. That observation became even more meaningful when Edwards-Helaire later described what Kelce did away from the practice field. “Like, ‘Bro, you good? He was the only one. That friendship grew beyond the usual teammate relationship.