On Friday, the Minnesota Vikings and the National Football League saw the retirement of a player who was among the top at his position for much of his NFL career.
Center Ryan Kelly announced that he would be stepping away from the NFL on Friday. He spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Indianapolis Colts before spending his final year with the Vikings in 2025.
Kelly was a first-round pick of the Colts in the 2016 NFL Draft, when Indianapolis took him with the 18th overall pick. He was a second-team
All-Pro in 2020, and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. He played with the Colts from 2016 to 2024, and signed a two-year, $18 million contract with the Vikings in March of 2025. Looking at things from a contract perspective, his retirement will give the Vikings about $10 million in salary cap space but will open up a significant hole at the center spot.
Kelly had battled concussions throughout his time in Indianapolis, and dealt with the problem at an even greater level in his one year with Minnesota. He suffered three concussions this past year with the Vikings, the last of which came even with the added protection of the “guardian cap” that so many players wear to try to guard against the injury. The concussions limited him to just eight games this past season.
For his career, Kelly appeared in 132 games (129 regular season, 3 postseason), all of which were starts.
We here at The Daily Norseman want to wish Ryan Kelly and his family the best as he moves on to the next chapter of his life in retirement.
