Former Mr. Irrelevant recalls receiving praise from Rams' Aaron Donald

Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly recently recalled the only regular-season NFL snap, to date, of his career. 

For a piece published Wednesday, ESPN's Brooke Pryor noted how Kelly took a knee as a member of the Denver Broncos to close out the first half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 14, 2018. 

"The crowd went crazy just for a kneel-down," Kelly explained. "I remember right after I took a knee, (Rams defensive superstar) Aaron Donald came up and said some very positive things to me. Then I kind of turned around after, and I was like, wait, that was Aaron Donald? It kind of took me by surprise. I felt like I almost belonged, hearing something from a guy like him."

Denver made Chad Kelly, the nephew of Hall of Famer and Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly, the final pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. According to The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), the Broncos released Chad Kelly shortly after he was arrested on suspicion of first-degree criminal trespassing less than two weeks after he took that single snap against the Rams. He later spent time with the Indianapolis Colts but never appeared in a regular-season contest with that organization. 

"Getting a little taste of one snap in the NFL," Kelly added, "it's almost like the biggest tease of all teases, right? You're just there to kneel the ball down, not even there to actually run a play or hand it off. I definitely have just learned to take every moment for what it is and enjoy where you're at in this present moment and understand the capabilities and things that you could endure throughout the life and just be able to approach every day like it's your last."

After Kelly came off the bench to help the Argonauts defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and win the Canadian Football League Grey Cup championship last fall, he said he thought he could start over approximately 50% of the quarterbacks in the NFL at that time. Kelly is currently serving as Toronto's QB1, and it's unclear if the 29-year-old will receive a call from any NFL teams this summer or fall.