Toronto Argonauts’ franchise quarterback Chad Kelly was on the field at the University of Guelph as his team opened 2025 training camp. He was wearing his red QB jersey and dark blue shorts to match teammates but his helmet was replaced with a light blue Argos hat.
Kelly did individual drill work but did not participate in any compete or team periods. The 31-year-old has been rehabbing his broken right tibia and fibula bones since sustaining that gruesome injury in the East Final on Saturday, November 9. He spent his offseason rehab time in Florida, Buffalo and Toronto.
“The whole rehab process is very difficult. I wasn’t in a cast or anything, which was nice, so I was able to walk with kind of body weight from the start. It’s a full time job, trying to get back,” Kelly said.
“You have ups and downs. Broken bones are a lot different than tearing your ACL. It’s God’s timing to put his hand on you and say: ‘This is when I want you back.’ A ligament more or less, you can rush it and do more.”
Head coach Ryan Dinwiddie stated Kelly has one more X-ray to check off and then he could be fully cleared for football activities. However, the 44-year-old bench boss does not want to rush the CFL’s 2023 Most Outstanding Player. He’s hopeful Kelly could lineup at QB for 12-on-12 team periods by the end of training camp.
“We got good results on the last X-ray. We feel good about it. I wanna make sure we get him on the field where he feels comfortable. That he can be healthy, go out there and play,” Dinwiddie said.
“I wanna make sure we take care of his body. It’s an 18-week season, I don’t wanna rush him back and lose him for the whole year, so we gotta be smart. We gotta understand we might have some growing pains without him.”
The Argonauts are scheduled to open the regular season in Montreal against the Alouettes on Friday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Whether Kelly starts at QB in Week 1 appears to be a very real open question and one Dinwiddie needs more time to answer.
“Don’t know yet. Two weeks from now, I’ll have a better answer for you. I would say it’s probably 50-50 at this stage,” Dinwiddie said.
“I’m not even really focused on Week 1. I’m focused on each day, trying to get better mentally and physically and be better than where I was,” Kelly said. “I wanna make sure that I’m 100 percent before I step out on the field, go through things and be ready.”
If Kelly does not start in Week 1, Dinwiddie said it’s an open competition for who steps in should No. 12 be unable to play. 2024 Grey Cup MVP Nick Arbuckle entered training camped as the favourite to backup Kelly, but Cameron Dukes is in the mix.
“Nick probably gets even reps with Cam and we’ll see how it goes. Cam needs equal reps to continue to develop. Nick’s a wise veteran and I don’t think he needs all those reps. He’ll get his mental reps and we’re excited about both of their growth,” Dinwiddie said.
“Nick’s ahead of Cam at this stage, but Cam’s got some good talent. Once the football game starts, we need him to progress more. Nick’s ahead of Cam at this stage just because of experience, but we believe in Cam too. Both those guys gotta go compete and earn the two job.”
Dukes started eight games last season and Arbuckle one, helping guide the Argos to a 5-4 record while Kelly was serving his nine-game suspension.
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