Chad Kelly Injury Update Not Good for Toronto Argonauts
It was a bittersweet night for the Toronto Argonauts as they escaped Montreal with a 30-28 win over the Alouettes to punch their ticket to the Grey Cup for the second time in three years. The bad news? They have to do it without their star quarterback.
Late in the third quarter, Argos signal caller Chad Kelly was tackled by Alouettes defenders Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and Geoffrey Cantin Arku. He got up limping on one leg and went straight down. Kelly ended up breaking his tibia and was carted off the field, sharing an emotional moment with his head coach Ryan Dinwiddie.
"Feel so bad for 12,” Dinwiddie said after the game. “That's a tough go.”
TSN's Dave Naylor reported the recovery time will be between six to nine months, which will leave Kelly out of the Grey Cup and potentially for the beginning of the 2025 season. Dinwiddie named Nick Arbuckle the starter after he finished the game for Kelly. Arbuckle completed five of eight passes for 73 yards.
2024 has been an up-and-down season for Kelly, who was suspended for the first nine games of the season due to the allegations made against him regarding his dealings with a former strength and conditioning coach. He finished the season with 2,451 passing yards and 10 touchdowns to eight interceptions.
Arbuckle and Cameron Dukes split time at quarterback during Kelly's suspension so there is some familiarity with Arbuckle in the offense. During the regular season, Arbuckle threw for 799 yards and four touchdowns to three interceptions.
The season now falls on the shoulders of Arbuckle, who is a veteran of the CFL and has played in plenty of games. Toronto will face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup after the Bombers won by 16 points against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night.
You can follow Anthony Miller on X @ByAnthonyMiller.
Catch up with CFL on SI.com on Facebook and X.
