Colts’ Ryan Kelly shot down notion of potential retirement

Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly made it clear following the end of the regular season that he has no plans of entering retirement anytime soon.

When asked by Indy media members about the notion of him potentially hanging up the spikes, Kelly was unwavering in his response to the question.

Specifically asked Ryan Kelly when he began thinking about his future.
Kelly: ‘About what?’
About maybe retiring: ‘Have I ever mentioned I’m thinking about retiring? Where does that s*** come from?’
It’s out there: ‘Somebody needs to check their sources.’

Sorta agitated

— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) January 8, 2024

Despite dealing with a pair of concussions this season, Kelly regained his form as one of the top centers in the NFL. He returned to form as the anchor of the offensive line excelling in both pass protection and run blocking.

The Colts offensive line as a whole bounced back in a big way under new coach Tony Sparano Jr., and this is even despite the fact that the starting unit played only a handful of games together.

According to Pro Football Focus, Kelly’s seven total pressures allowed were the fewest among all NFL centers with at least 300 pass-blocking snaps. He also allowed just one sack on the season.

The Colts offensive line was back to being the strength of the offense in 2023, which was a far cry from what we had seen the previous two seasons.

Kelly is still under contract for the 2024 season with a $14.62 million salary-cap hit. It’s likely that one of the draft picks in April will be used on a potential replacement for Kelly in the future, but it seems he will be returning for at least one more campaign.