INDIANAPOLIS — Colts quarterback Chad Kelly, assuming he makes the team, has been suspended without pay for the first two games of the 2019 season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday.
Kelly’s suspension stems from his October 2018 arrest for criminal trespassing after he entered a couple’s home while he played for the Denver Broncos, who released the quarterback the following day.
Kelly, a seventh-round pick by the Broncos in 2017, pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal trespassing — a misdemeanor — in March. He was sentenced to one year of supervised probation and 50 hours of community service.
The Colts signed Kelly on May 20 after he performed well during the team’s rookie minicamp earlier in the month. Coach Frank Reich was a teammate of Kelly’s uncle, Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, with the Buffalo Bills from 1986 to 1994.
“At the end of the day, you have to put in enough work for [the Colts] to trust you,” Chad Kelly said earlier this week. “It’s going to take some time, of course, because there’s been things that have happened in the past. But I’m up for the challenge to prove to these guys that I’m dedicated to this.”
Kelly is allowed to participate in offseason activities, preseason practices and games. He is eligible to return to the Colts’ active roster on Sept. 16, if he makes the roster.
Andrew Luck and Jacoby Brissett are the top two quarterbacks on the roster. Kelly will compete with Phillip Walker for the No. 3 spot.
The Colts only kept two quarterbacks on the active roster last season, with Walker on the practice squad.
Kelly has a history of off-the-field troubles.
He was kicked off Clemson’s football team for arguing with coaches during the spring game in 2014. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct after he was arrested for a bar fight in 2014. Kelly was in another fight at his brother’s high school football game in New York in October 2016, with videos showing Kelly being held back by the coaches.
Kelly spent his rookie season in 2017 on injured reserve due to knee and wrist injuries suffered while at Ole Miss. He played one snap prior to his release from the Broncos last season.
“In order to change your ways, you have to cut some things out,” Kelly said. “You can’t be hanging around the same people. You can’t be doing the things that you thought you could get away with. I’m thankful for this opportunity, but I know in order to gain the trust of others, I have to show over time that this is who I am. This is who I truly am.”