Chad Kelly Is Back Playing Professional Football And It’s Time To Put The World On Notice

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  • Chad Kelly is back playing professional football after signing with the Toronto Argonauts.
  • What he is about to do to opposing defenses in Canada should be illegal.
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The Swag has been unlocked. After two years away from the football field, Chad Kelly is making his return to the gridiron.

On Friday morning, the Toronto Argonauts announced that they have officially signed Kelly to play in the Canadian Football League.

As could be expected, Kelly is thrilled to get back to balling.

Now it’s time to put the world on notice. Toronto is immediately a Grey Cup contender and it’s all because of Kelly’s innate ability to sling the pill.

Kelly, at age 27, will be on a professional roster for the first time since September 30, 2020. What he did in college was incredible and his raw talent is hard to overlook.

Kelly was drafted by Denver after two years with the Rebels and played four years between the Broncos and the Colts, but he never threw a pass in a regular season game. That didn’t keep the nephew of Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly from making a strong impression with his rocket arm and sneaky wheels.

 

Colts head coach Frank Reich was impressed with the SEC’s leading passer from 2015 and entered the preseason in 2020 with a favorable outlook.

“I cannot tell you how happy we are with Chad,” he said that year. “He’s progressed a lot as a quarterback. He really works hard at it. He knows how to fight. He’s a good teammate. He has worked with Phil Simms. He’s really worked hard at his craft and continuing to improve.”

Despite his natural talent, he never had an opportunity to reach the starting spot on a depth chart and was cut by the Colts in favor of Philip Rivers, Jacoby Brissett and Jacob Eason.

Their mistake.

After his brief stint with Indianapolis, Kelly partook in Ole Miss’ 2021 Pro Day. He also worked out with the Bills and the Packers, but did not make either squad.

Perhaps more notably, Kelly was suspended by the NFL in May of 2019 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after he got a little too turnt at Von Miller’s Halloween party. According to a police report from his arrest, he toddled into the house of someone he did not know and proceeded to sit on the couch, “mumbling incoherently” aside the homeowners. Kelly, who was dressed similarly to Woody from Toy Story, only left after one of the residents chased him out with an aluminum vacuum tube.

Swag has since cleaned himself up and is looking to showcase his skills in the CFL. People forget that there is a legitimate case to be made for Kelly being the greatest single-season quarterback in Ole Miss history.

He’s an absolute baller.

In addition to his on-field play, he has all of the intangibles. He is the highest-rated quarterback in Sports Science history, even over Patrick Mahomes.

In 2015, his only full season in Oxford, Kelly led the Rebels to a 10-3 record with a road victory over eventual national champion Alabama and a decisive Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma State. Kelly led the SEC with 4042 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns that year. He was better than Dak Prescott, Kyle Allen and Will Grier, among others.

To compare, Eli Manning’s best single season saw 3,600 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns. Kelly also recorded a higher completion percentage, rushed for 500 more yards and ran for seven more touchdowns than Manning.

His 4,542 yards of total offense in 2015 is only bested by Johnny Manziel (twice), and before an injury cut his 2016 campaign short, he threw for 2,758 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Let’s also not be soon to forget that he has a rap song about himself.

Kelly has the physical traits that teams are looking for, he can take off and break off a first down run in space, and he throws the deep ball better than most of the league. If he can produce in the CFL, he could receive NFL opportunities next season.

The Argonauts begin the 2022 season on June 16th. Mark your calendar because Chad Kelly is about to dice up Canada.