CFL QB shares how many NFL quarterbacks he’s better than
Nov 3, 2019; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Chad Kelly (6) warms up before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Chad Kelly is fresh off a CFL championship, and that has him feeling extra swaggy.
Kelly came off the bench to help lead the Toronto Argonauts to a CFL championship on Sunday. The Argos beat Winnipeg 24-23, with Kelly going 4/6 for 43 passing yards and 21 rushing yards.
Coming off the win, Kelly said he is better than half the NFL’s starting quarterbacks.
Kelly joined “Pardon My Take” for an interview this week and talked about how he stacks up. He was asked how many NFL QBs he could start over and said 50 percent.
Chad Kelly Believes He Could Start Over 50 Percent Of Current NFL Quarterbacks https://t.co/XRRtxJmhhE pic.twitter.com/42uE1Jzj4k
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 24, 2022
“This is what I think: obviously there’s a lot of off the field stuff, right? We all know about it, it’s all been publicized. You know, you stick a camera in a kid’s face at 8 years old and give him his own day, you know, that’s predominately what’s going to happen is that the light is going to shine a little brighter when it’s good or bad, right? But I think people mistaken my on the field capabilities of thinking clearly, right? Because they see that I do some dumb things off the field,” Kelly said.
“So, I think that with my saying 50 percent, I feel like I know the game a lot more than a lot of people because I started at such a young age and that’s all I knew. In order to, you know, make it in life, I thought it was just to play in the NFL, really not even play in college. It was to play for the Buffalo Bills or someone. That was the main focus my whole life.”
Considering Kelly was behind McLeod Bethel-Thompson on Toronto’s depth chart, it’s hard to imagine him being that much better than numerous NFL quarterbacks. But if you’re counting backups, third-string QBs, and practice squad quarterbacks as part of the 50 percent, then maybe Kelly has a better shot of being accurate. But when you’re not even starting on your own CFL team, a comment like that makes us think it’s a joke.
Kelly, 28, rushed for 137 yards and six touchdowns this season, while passing for 2 TDs for Toronto. He is best known for his two seasons at Ole Miss in 2015 and 2016. He passed for 6,800 yards and 50 touchdowns for the Rebels and led them to a 10-3 season in 2015. Off the field, Kelly had numerous issues that damaged his career. He was kicked off the team at Clemson for off-field issues, and was cut by the Broncos following an arrest.