With some interest in bringing him into the roster over the past month, the Indianapolis Colts finally signed quarterback Chad Kelly to the roster on Monday.
The Colts aren’t shy about bringing in a fourth quarterback to the room, and there is a chance they are beginning to look at backup options outside of Jacoby Brissett, who is set to be a free agent in 2020.
Here are five things to know about Kelly:
Mr. Irrelevant in 2017
As a product of Ole Miss, Kelly was selected by the Denver Broncos with the final pick of the 2017 draft, Having already selected Paxton Lynch in the first round the year before, it wasn’t clear if Kelly would have an impact.
Kelly played in only one game during his time with the Broncos before being released in October for trouble with the law. He seemed to be approaching his chance to grab the starting role in Denver before being released.
During his collegiate career (27 games), Kelly completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 6,858 yards, 50 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
Nephew of Jim Kelly
The newest member of the Colts’ roster has some legendary football running through his veins. He’s the nephew of former Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly. There is a chance the connection between current head coach Frank Reich and the former Bills quarterback in Kelly helped land Chad a spot on the Colts’ roster.
Both Kelly and Reich played on the Bills together from 1985-94, so there was a relationship stemming from that. Whether or not that had any factor in the Colts making this signing remains to be seen, but there is some familiarity.
Arrested in 2018
Just when Kelly was approaching the chance to become the starter for the Broncos in 2018, he ran into serious trouble with the law. He was arrested and charged for first-degree criminal trespassing in October and was eventually released following the incident.
Kelly had some character concerns coming out of the draft. He was dismissed from Clemson for conduct detrimental to the team before making his rounds to Ole Miss.
General manager Chris Ballard has stated they feel comfortable taking a player with character concerns if they feel they’ve vetted the situation enough to know it won’t be a problem.
Attended Colts rookie minicamp
While there was reported interest in the Colts wanting to sign Kelly following the 2019 NFL Draft, they decided to get him on the field during the team’s rookie minicamp. This allowed them to see him work after taking so much time off.
Kelly wound up leaving the minicamp without a contract, even after the Colts signed four tryout players, but there was still interest from the team in bringing him in as the fourth quarterback. The Colts brought four quarterbacks into training camp in 2018.
Kelly did well enough in the Colts’ eyes to warrant a contract as a depth piece in the room.
Competition in the QB room
Kelly will be the fourth quarterback in the room for the Colts and will be competing for a roster spot throughout the remainder of the offseason, training camp and preseason, barring any changes.
We know Andrew Luck is still the starter and Jacoby Brissett is still the backup. Those two roles aren’t changing anytime soon. However, Kelly is likely to compete with Phillip Walker for the QB3 role in the room.
The Colts are possibly beginning to look at backup options for Brissett in case he winds up leaving in free agency during the 2020 offseason.
