Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

QB with checkered past campaigns for second chance in NFL

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 1/12/23

Chad Kelly is hoping at least one NFL team in need of a quarterback will give him a call this offseason.

"They have to bring me in, sit me down and talk," Kelly told Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post. "You can think of everything I’ve done in the past. Obviously, we’re not going to get into that. That’s behind me. That’s not who I am, who I want to be, or who I want to be known as. I’m a different person."

This past fall, Kelly came off the bench to lead the Toronto Argonauts on a scoring drive against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that helped Toronto win the Canadian Football League Grey Cup. Following that performance, he boldly and confidently claimed he could start for roughly 50% of the teams in the NFL.

The nephew of Hall of Fame quarterback and Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly, Chad Kelly was the last pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. He made more memories off the field than as a player, however. According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Kelly pleaded guilty to misdemeanor second-degree criminal trespassing in March 2019 regarding an incident that occurred after he left a Halloween party thrown by then-Denver Broncos teammate Von Miller.

In total, Kelly tallied just one career run for minus-one yards in regular-season play before he was bounced from the NFL entirely.

"I just want that chance to talk to these NFL coaches and say, 'I know I can bring something to the table. I know I have the ability. You might believe that I did dumb things, but I’m not a dumb person,'" Kelly told Glasspiegel. "I truly regret a lot of decisions I’ve made and self-sabotage, but I’ve grown from that. Unless they feel my sincerity in my voice and my presence, then they can still write me off as that same kid when I was acting like a fool."

It's yet to be determined if any NFL team plans to reach out to Kelly any time soon.

More must-reads: