Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly lifts the Grey Cup during a Grey Cup championship rally in Toronto on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. The Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday to win the cup. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

By The Canadian Press

Veteran quarterback Chad Kelly ready to return as Toronto Argonauts starter

Apr 2, 2026 | 4:48 PM

Chad Kelly feels like he’s ready to resume being the Toronto Argonauts’ starting quarterback.

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.

“I feel like I can go,” Kelly told reporters Thursday during a video conference. “To finally be healed up fully in January was a big, you know, step forward mentally that I needed to overcome.

“So, you know, I’m 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’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.”

Kelly sustained a fractured fibula and tibia in the second half of Toronto’s 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.

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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.

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’s starter.

When asked if he’d recovered fully from the injury or faced mental hurdles during his recovery process, Kelly declined comment.

But Kelly was upbeat about Miller’s promotion. Miller was named head coach in December after Ryan Dinwiddie left to become the Ottawa Redblacks head coach and general manager.

Miller had served as Toronto’s quarterbacks coach from 2022-25, winning Grey Cups in 2022 and ’24. But Miller’s extensive coaching resume includes stints with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.

“He knows ball,” Kelly said. “He really understands the game from a different level.

“I think the biggest thing is he’s a listener, he really takes in the equation of what we (players) feel is needed or what we’d like to see in a gameplan or change. Obviously, he’s the head coach, he overrules everything, but he’s definitely a listener, which we appreciate.”

Kelly was the CFL’s 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.

He threw for 4,123 yards and 23 touchdowns while also running for eight TDs. But Montreal spoiled Toronto’s stellar campaign, stunning the Argos 38-17 in the East Division final.

The Alouettes forced nine turnovers, including four interceptions, as Kabion Ento and Marc-Antoine Dequoy recorded pick-sixes for the eventual Grey Cup champions.

Kelly was suspended for Toronto’s 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).

After guiding Toronto to a 58-38 East Division semifinal win over Ottawa, Kelly was injured in the conference final.

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’s been part of two Grey Cup-winning teams (2022, ’24).

But Kelly feels patience will be key for him this season.

“You’ve got to let the game come to you, take what the defence gives you and use your strengths to your strength,” he said. “I know what I can and can’t do, I know how to manage the game from a quarterback’s perspective.

“Getting these guys (Argos receivers) the ball makes my job a lo easier so that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.”

A major challenge Kelly and the Argos will face is being away from BMO Field to start the season. They’ll hold training camp at the University of Guelph and remain there while World Cup games are being played in Toronto.

Toronto’s first three “home” games will be played at neutral sites — Regina, Winnipeg, and Hamilton — before its hosts the Calgary Stampeders at BMO Field on Aug. 6.

“Well, it’s going to be a hurdle, for sure,” Kelly said. “But I think it’s going to feel like college again, where we’re in a small, small town and we’re in a college.

“But we do feel bad for the fans … 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.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press