At 1:17 a.m. this past Tuesday, Englewood Police responded to a call about a suspicious man standing outside of someone’s home. The man, now identified as Denver Broncos and former Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly, had entered the home by the time the police arrived on the scene.
He had been at teammate Von Miller’s annual Halloween party in the evening leading up to the incident.
According to the arrest affidavit, a female tenant of the home was seated on her couch holding her infant when Kelly entered the home and sat beside her on the couch, mumbling incoherently. The woman asked for help from another tenant of the home, who entered the room and struck Kelly in the back with an aluminum vacuum tube before forcing him out of the home.
Kelly left the home and was tracked down by police, who obtained security footage showing him entering the front door wearing a cowboy costume. They found him in a black SUV, not driving, where he identified himself as Chad Kelly. After being jailed for several hours, Kelly appeared in an Arapahoe County court, posted $2,500 bond, and is set to appear again in court on Wednesday.
Kelly, picked last overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, is currently listed second on the quarterback depth chart after a struggling Case Keenum. He beat out former first round pick Paxton Lynch for the backup job this past offseason and seemed ready to capitalize on this chance. He appeared for one victory formation play already this season, and many believe he was poised to earn a starting role if Keenum’s poor run of play continued.
After having off-field issues since his career’s beginning in high school, this latest infraction could prove to be the most costly of all. Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway addressed Kelly’s arrest Tuesday.
#Broncos GM John Elway met with QB Chad Kelly following his arrest, I’m told. Elway is extremely angry with the player (not the Western-themed party that Von Miller throws every year where many community members attend). All options — including release — on the table for Kelly.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 23, 2018
“We’re obviously very, very disappointed in Chad and the situation that he’s put himself into, so we’re in the process of getting all the facts and talking to Chad, and then we’ll figure out exactly which direction we’re going to go,” Elway said. “We’re going to look into this and look into it very seriously because the charges are very, very serious, and we understand that, so we will look into this and then make decisions as we go.”
Elway reports that Chad Kelly’s uncle, legendary quarterback Jim Kelly, vouched for his character before Elway signed off on the pick. Now, Elway has met with Kelly and is “extremely angry with the player.” He is considering all options, including release, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport via Twitter.
