Chad Kelly's pro-day workout at Ole Miss was derailed by an injury.
The former Rebels quarterback and nephew of Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly cut his throwing session short after aggravating a wrist injury he suffered during training, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. After considering a return to finish the session, Kelly decided the workout would not continue. He has rescheduled a second pro day workout for April 22, per Rapoport, just five days before the draft will begin in Philadelphia.
"I just aggravated it earlier in the week," Kelly told NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock, who attended the workout. "Tried to come out here and tried to do the best to my ability and I kind of threw one into the flats, kind of aggravated it there and threw another one on a swing route and it really just didn't feel the same, so they decided to call it quits."
It was already going to be a short workout for Kelly, just not this short.
Coming off a torn ACL suffered last season, Kelly had to rehab his way to readiness for pro day during the spring. He was cleared for a script of 35-45 pro-day throws, Rapoport reported last week. A typical pro day for quarterbacks is a script of 60-plus throws. He threw just 12 passes Monday before aggravating the wrist injury, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Jim Kelly posted an Instagram photo of Kelly's interview with NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock, saying that his nephew would be back "better than ever."
It's a tough outcome for Kelly, especially because he was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine due to an NFL conduct policy. Following Kelly's injury last year, he was projected as a seventh-round draft choice by NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. He passed for 6,800 yards and 50 touchdowns over two seasons at Ole Miss, prompting Mayock to suggest that he might have the "biggest arm in the draft." Concerns about Kelly's on-field decision-making, as well as his character, and the knee injury have put a drag on his draft status, however.
If NFL clubs view Kelly as a late pick in the draft, his second pro day workout doesn't figure to be as well-attended as Monday's workout, where other Ole Miss prospects were also being evaluated.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
