Chad Kelly Says He Hit Rock Bottom After Von Miller's Halloween Party During Tumultuous NFL Career

Chad Kelly is currently dicing up Canada, but he would much prefer to be playing professional football in the United States. Not with the XFL or USFL.

The 29-year-old quarterback wants to make a return to the National Football League.

Kelly, the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, had multiple opportunities to follow in his uncle's footsteps. He was drafted dead last overall by the Broncos in 2017, spent two years in Denver, and later spent two seasons bouncing between Indianapolis' active and practice squad rosters.

Neither opportunity stuck.

Although Kelly has not been in the NFL since 2020, he believes that he deserves another shot. The tape backs up his belief.

Unfortunately, it is off-field issues that forced him to explore other options— like the CFL.

Kelly, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2012, was dismissed from Clemson's football team after he snapped at coaches during the spring game. That led him to East Mississippi Community College, and ultimately Ole Miss.

Shortly after committing to play for the Rebels, Kelly was arrested after an alleged nightclub brawl and gun threats. Hugh Freeze did not give up on the gunslinger, who went on to become one of the best quarterbacks in school history.

However, in October of his senior year, Kelly jumped a fence at his brother's high school game and got involved with an on-field skirmish. The trend continued.

Chad Kelly's NFL career was a rollercoaster.

Kelly beat out Paxton Lynch for the backup role in Denver prior to the 2018 season, his rookie year. Two months later, the off-field issues reached their peak.

Kelly allegedly entered into a couple's place of residence after leaving Von Miller's Halloween party. Video showed him being chased out of the home with a vacuum in a cowboy costume.

The Broncos released him following his arrest. Kelly later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor second-degree criminal trespassing for the incident.

It has been more than four years since Halloween of 2018 and Kelly believes that he is a completely different person. He has grown up.

Kelly recently spoke to Brooke Pryor of ESPN about his journey, which he wouldn't wish on anyone.

But I think all the things that I've been through have shaped me to become the person I am and the quarterback I am, and the mature person I am today.

As a result of his misdemeanor charge, Kelly served a two-game suspension after signing with the Colts. He told Pryor that around that time, one of his former coaches said that he had yet to hit rock bottom.

That hit him hard. Kelly, in his own mind, had hit rock bottom.

At that moment, it kind of ticked me off in a way. They don't know what I've been through, and they don't know what rock bottom felt like, because I did hit rock bottom. I think from that moment on I was pissed off to be really, really great.

Kelly later returned to football last season after a two-year hiatus with the Argonauts and won a Grey Cup in relief. Now, during his second year with Toronto, he is tearing it up as the starter with an opportunity to cash-in on his unique incentive-based contract.

Rock bottom is behind him. Kelly is on the upswing!