Former Broncos QB, CFL Grey Cup Champion Suffers Horrific Leg Injury

Getty Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly.

This one isn’t for football fans with a weak stomach.

Former Denver Broncos quarterback and current Toronto Argonauts star Chad Kelly suffered a gruesome leg injury during the CFL semifinals against the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday that left players on both sides of the contest shaken and Kelly desperately trying to hold his leg together as medical officials rushed to his aid.

“Kelly was running for a first down on a 2nd and 10 play in the third quarter when Montreal’s Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund fell on Kelly’s leg in the process of making a tackle,” wrote The New York Post’s Joseph Stazewski. “The QB could not put any weight on it as he got up and could be seen on the broadcast attempting to hold his leg below the knee as he flopped to the field.”

Kelly suffered what is believed to be a fractured tibia and fibia and underwent surgery. He’s expected to be out for up to six months, if not longer.

Kelly, who played in the NFL for 4 seasons from 2017 to 2020, was undergoing something of a career revival in the CFL — he led the Argonauts to a CFL Grey Cup Championship in 2022 and was named CFL Most Outstanding Player in 2023.

Nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback

Kelly committed to Clemson out of high school but was more known early on for being the nephew of Buffalo Bills legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.

Kelly transferred to East Mississippi Community College — the school originally featured on the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U” — and led them to an NJCAA national championship before transferring to Ole Miss.

Kelly revitalized his career in the SEC, where he had a breakout season in 2015 with 4,551 yards of total offense and 41 total touchdowns — 31 passing and 10 rushing — and finished his career as a 2-time All-SEC pick and Sugar Bowl MVP in 2016.

Kelly’s draft stock took a hit in 2017 thanks to a torn ACL suffered late in his final season at Ole Miss and the Denver Broncos selected him with the final pick in the seventh round — the “Mr. Irrelevant” spot — and he played 2 seasons with the Broncos and 2 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

Off-Field Issues Have Dogged Kelly for Decade

Kelly was dismissed from Clemson by head coach Dabo Swinney for “conduct detrimental to the team” in April 2014 while he was competing for the starting quarterback spot.

“He has had a pattern of behavior that is not consistent with the values of our program,” Swinney told ESPN. “I hope he will mature and grow from this and become the man and player I know he can be.”

In December 2014, Kelly was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct in Buffalo, New York, after fighting a group of bouncers outside of a nightclub. In October 2018, Kelly was released by the Broncos after he was arrested on suspicion of first-degree criminal trespassing.

In May 2024, the CFL suspended Kelly for at least 9 games after he was accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit by a female strength and conditioning coach for the Argonauts.