Chad Kelly feels like he\u2019s ready to resume being the Toronto Argonauts\u2019 starting quarterback.<\/p>\n
Kelly missed all of last season recovering from a leg injury suffered in the 2024 East Division final. Toronto will open training camp next month and the 32-year-old Buffalo, N.Y., native said he feels good physically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I can go,\u201d Kelly told reporters Thursday during a video conference. \u201cTo finally be healed up fully in January was a big, you know, step forward mentally that I needed to overcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you know, I\u2019m just trying to build the tank as much as I can, keep on working out with the guys and throwing to them as much as I can and just being ready mentally and physically to go through a long season. It\u2019s not a sprint, it\u2019s a marathon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly sustained a fractured fibula and tibia in the second half of Toronto\u2019s 30-28 East Division final win over the Montreal Alouettes. Nick Arbuckle stepped in and guided Toronto to a 41-24 Grey Cup win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, earning game MVP honours after passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n
With Kelly sidelined last season, Arbuckle set career highs in starts (15), passes (504), completions (365, 72.4 per cent), yards (4,370), TDs (26) and interceptions (15). But Toronto (5-13) finished third in the East Division and missed the CFL playoffs.<\/p>\n
Arbuckle returns this season but new coach Mike Miller said last week the expectation is Kelly will be ready for the start of the training camp. And, Miller added, Kelly will be the club\u2019s starter.<\/p>\n
When asked if he\u2019d recovered fully from the injury or faced mental hurdles during his recovery process, Kelly declined comment.<\/p>\n
But Kelly was upbeat about Miller\u2019s promotion. Miller was named head coach in December after Ryan Dinwiddie left to become the Ottawa Redblacks head coach and general manager.<\/p>\n
Miller had served as Toronto\u2019s quarterbacks coach from 2022-25, winning Grey Cups in 2022 and \u201924. But Miller\u2019s extensive coaching resume includes stints with the NFL\u2019s Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows ball,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cHe really understands the game from a different level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the biggest thing is he\u2019s a listener, he really takes in the equation of what we (players) feel is needed or what we\u2019d like to see in a gameplan or change. Obviously, he\u2019s the head coach, he overrules everything, but he\u2019s definitely a listener, which we appreciate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly was the CFL\u2019s outstanding player in 2023 after winning 15-of-16 starts (league-record .938 win percentage) in leading Toronto to a 16-2 record. That tied the all-time mark for single-season victories set by Edmonton in 1989. <\/p>\n
He threw for 4,123 yards and 23 touchdowns while also running for eight TDs. But Montreal spoiled Toronto\u2019s stellar campaign, stunning the Argos 38-17 in the East Division final.<\/p>\n
The Alouettes forced nine turnovers, including four interceptions, as Kabion Ento and Marc-Antoine Dequoy recorded pick-sixes for the eventual Grey Cup champions.<\/p>\n
Kelly was suspended for Toronto\u2019s first nine regular-season games in 2024 by the CFL for violating its gender-based violence policy. He returned and led the Argos (10-8) to second in the East Division behind Montreal (league-best 12-5-1 record).<\/p>\n
After guiding Toronto to a 58-38 East Division semifinal win over Ottawa, Kelly was injured in the conference final.<\/p>\n
Kelly enters his fifth season with Toronto. The nephew of former Buffalo Bills star quarterback Jim Kelly has completed 471-of-697 passes (67.6 per cent) for 6,871 yards in 45 career CFL regular-season games with 35 TDs and 23 interceptions. He\u2019s been part of two Grey Cup-winning teams (2022, \u201924).<\/p>\n
But Kelly feels patience will be key for him this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to let the game come to you, take what the defence gives you and use your strengths to your strength,\u201d he said. \u201cI know what I can and can\u2019t do, I know how to manage the game from a quarterback\u2019s perspective. <\/p>\n
\u201cGetting these guys (Argos receivers) the ball makes my job a lo easier so that\u2019s what I\u2019m looking forward to doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
A major challenge Kelly and the Argos will face is being away from BMO Field to start the season. They\u2019ll hold training camp at the University of Guelph and remain there while World Cup games are being played in Toronto.<\/p>\n
Toronto\u2019s first three \u201chome\u201d games will be played at neutral sites \u2014 Regina, Winnipeg, and Hamilton \u2014 before its hosts the Calgary Stampeders at BMO Field on Aug. 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s going to be a hurdle, for sure,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s going to feel like college again, where we\u2019re in a small, small town and we\u2019re in a college.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we do feel bad for the fans \u2026 hopefully we can come back with a good record, give them something to cheer for and hopefully get them that extra game at the end of the year, hopefully two.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chad Kelly feels like he\u2019s ready to resume being the Toronto Argonauts\u2019 starting quarterback. Kelly missed all of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-579448","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}