Colts fans don’t have to worry about Ryan Kelly going anywhere anytime soon

As the Indianapolis Colts enter the offseason, it’s understood that the team may look different next year. With key guys like Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart, Julian Blackmon, and Kenny Moore II entering free agency, everyone knows that Indy may not re-sign all of them. However, there was recently some speculation about whether or not veteran center Ryan Kelly will retire.

Kelly, just 30 years old, has been in the league since 2016, spending his entire career with the Indianapolis Colts. He just finished up a massive bounce-back season and still has one season remaining on his contract. Despite that being the case, a rumor was floating that Kelly was considering retiring after this season.

With Indy’s season being over, Kelly was asked about the possibility of him retiring and he vehemently denied the rumor, exclaiming that he’s confused about where something like that even came from. Kelly said that anyone saying he’s contemplating his future needs to check their sources.

Ryan Kelly isn’t thinking about retirement

Kelly is right to be frustrated considering that he hasn’t even hinted at retiring during his time with the Colts. Additionally, he’s only turning 31 this offseason and is coming off one of his best seasons. With he, Quenton Nelson, and Braden Smith getting back to their best forms, and the rest of the linemen making strides in their development. Indy’s offense improved significantly. The quarterback was protected and the run game was strong.

Both of those things will be especially important as the Colts work Anthony Richardson back into the lineup. Richardson having Kelly will be big as he resumes his emergence back into the NFL. Hopefully, Richardson will be able to continue taking snaps from Ryan Kelly beyond next season as well, since retiring clearly isn’t on the center’s mind.

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