Chad Kelly Trolls Broncos Amid Russell Wilson's Struggles

Chad Kelly had a message for the Denver Broncos.

On Christmas Day, amid the Denver Broncos' ugly 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, quarterback Russell Wilson was so ineffectual that he was benched in the fourth quarter. Wilson's day at the office was one of his worst as a Bronco, but it punctuated a season replete with inconsistent performances.

No doubt, Wilson hasn't lived up to the Broncos' blockbuster trade, wherein GM George Paton relinquished a pair of first- and second-round draft picks, nor has he justified the $245 million extension he was given on the doorstep of the season. Wilson is on track to post career-low numbers in Year 1 as a Bronco. 

As the Broncos were getting trounced by Baker Mayfield, Derek Wolfe — a Super Bowl 50 hero turned Denver radio host — sent a would-you-rather type question out into the Twitter ether on the subject of the team's current quarterback situation. Out of the blue, Mr. Irrelevant 2017 Chad Kelly answered with his typical aplomb. 

Chad https://t.co/CVu9mWWCXh

— Chad Kelly (@RocketmanKelly) December 25, 2022

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No doubt, Kelly would rather be the Broncos' starting quarterback right now. And what's crazy is that Kelly becoming the starter in the Mile High City almost happened. 

In 2018, the Broncos threw in with Case Keenum in free agency. Keenum was the understood starter throughout training camp and the preseason, but out of the blue, Kelly started making hay. 

After red-shirting his rookie season due to injury, Kelly stormed onto the scene in Denver and almost immediately neutralized Paxton Lynch. Lynch was only two years removed from being the Broncos' first-round pick, and although he'd failed to launch, the front office was giving him one last summer to prove himself. 

By the time the first preseason game was in the books, Kelly had fully leap-frogged Lynch. Kelly was such a spark, the Broncos were comfortable moving on from their former first-rounder in the final wave of roster cuts. 

Kelly was named the Broncos' QB2. From there, Keenum struggled to deliver wins and by the time Halloween had rolled around, there was buzz that the 3-5 Broncos were going to give Kelly a shot as the starter. 

Then Kelly got arrested following an intoxicated appearance at Von Miller's Halloween Party after he entered a family's home in the wee hours of the morning and had to be chased off by the man of the house with a vacuum hose extension. The Broncos released Kelly a day later. 

That ended his tenure in the Orange and Blue. He was so close to getting what he wanted, and at the penultimate worst possible moment, Kelly self-sabotaged his NFL career. 

The Indianapolis Colts signed him the next year, and he stayed there as a backup for two seasons. His NFL career highlight is just one snap — a kneel-down for the Broncos before he was cut. 

'Swag' Kelly will never lack hubris. On the heels of being the very last pick in the 2017 NFL draft, he compared his arm talent to that of John Elway and Brett Favre on a Denver radio show. 

Sans any NFL offers to speak of, Kelly has since taken his talents north of the 49th parallel, playing for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts and helping them to win the 109th Grey Cup. Kelly was tapped to enter the CFL's championship game in the fourth quarter, with Toronto trailing 23-17. 

Kelly led a comeback, defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-23 with the Argonauts trailing 23-17. He completed 4-of-6 passes for 43 yards, with two rushes for 21 yards, emerging victorious. 

Maybe that's where Kelly belongs. Then again, when an NFL team's quarterback play is as bad as Denver's... beggars can't be choosers. 

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