On Friday afternoon, former Indianapolis Colts longtime Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly announced his retirement from professional football as a current member of the Minnesota Vikings:
Originally a 2016 first
round pick of Indianapolis, Kelly would go on to make 121 career starts for the Colts at center over his first 9 seasons—en route to becoming a 4x NFL Pro Bowler and NFL 2nd-Team All-Pro during that same span at his position. He was one of the Colts consistent anchors along their interior offensive line.
Unfortunately, Kelly was limited to just 10 starts during his final season in Indianapolis during 2024 because of re-occurring concussions, before ultimately hitting free agency. The Colts elected to transition to 2nd-year center Tanor Bortolini as Kelly’s heir apparent and replacement instead, which ended up paying off dividends this past season as Bortolini broke out during his debut as a full-time starter.
As a veteran free agent, Kelly signed a 2-year, $18 million contract with the Vikings last offseason but was limited to just 8 starts after suffering three more concussions last season before being placed on season-ending injured reserve to finish what would ultimately be his final NFL season—his 10th in the league.
Had the 32-year-old not retired as a result of his lingering and re-occurring head injury history, Kelly very well may have found himself as a veteran salary cap casualty of the Vikings this early offseason regardless.
That being said, we’d like to congratulate Kelly on having a heck of a prior playing career as one of the best all-time centers in Colts franchise history—and a former longstanding leader in their locker room.
