Season 4 Episode 32

Season 4 Episode 31

Season 4, Episodes 26, 27

(John's Journal Week 1) Kameron Kelly: How did he get here?

(John's Journal Week 1) Kameron Kelly: How did he get here?

With Sean Davis listed as doubtful for Sunday night's game against the New England Patriots, the stars have aligned for Kameron Kelly get his first NFL action on Sunday night.  But, Kelly's road to this point, has been anything but ordinary.

Kelly with the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 (Credit: James D. Smith)

In September of 2018, Kelly was a free agent and faced a reality that over 1,000 players face when National Football League rosters are trimmed to 53.  That reality being; he may never play professional football again, at least not at the NFL level.

Often times, being cut at the end of the preseason is the end of the road, the end of a dream.  For a few who are lucky, they may get a second chance in the NFL down the road.  Typically however, players will sign with another league.  The most popular leagues to play for, are either: the Arena Football League or the Canadian Football League.  Both are reputable and respected, but they do have some key differences from the NFL in terms of play style.  Luckily for Kelly, he found another alternative, which gave him the best option for reviving his career.

Kelly returns an interception against the Salt Lake Stallions (Credit: Alan Smith)

The primary function of the Alliance of American Football, was to be able to provide a quality, standalone football product.  A product that could highlight its best players, hopefully giving players like Kelly a second chance at making it in the NFL.  Unlike the CFL or AFL, the AAF used the NFL standard for field size and scoring was mostly the same.  A few rules were somewhat different, but the idea was to have the game be pretty close to what fans saw on Sundays.  In this way, the AAF was the league best positioned, to give its players an audition for the NFL.

Kelly was one of the players that made the most of his audition.  In week five of the AAF's inaugural season, he made history, by intercepting three passes and returning one for a touchdown in what was a 27-25 victory for his team (the San Diego Fleet).  His performance captured the attention of many throughout the football world.  But it almost never happened, despite the fact Kelly was a cornerback with the Dallas Cowboys, he actually played wide receiver for the Fleet at the start of the season.  It wasn't until the team suffered several injuries at cornerback in week three, that head coach Mike Martz decided to move Kelly back to his natural position of cornerback.  Two weeks later, Kelly was a household name and his standout play would eventually lead him to the second chance he was looking for.  

The AAF suspended operations two weeks before the end of its first regular season, much to the shock of it's players, coaches and fans, many were now out of a job.  In the wake of the league suspending operations, players were quickly allowed to sign with NFL teams.  A total of 83 players from the AAF were able to make it onto at least one NFL roster in the off-season/preseason.

Kelly forces a fumble against the Tennessee Titans (Credit: Will Graves)

Kelly was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on April 8th and although he joined a crowded safety room, it didn't take long for him to stick out in the eyes of the coaches.  A strong preseason capped off a forced fumble in against the Titans led to Kelly making the opening day roster.  Kelly's second chance had finally come to fruition.  A year after his career nearly ended, he was looking better than ever.

So here we are today, with Sean Davis doubtful for Sunday's game, Kelly is in line to make his first NFL start (his first NFL snaps as well) against the champion New England Patriots.  As my co-host on the show Austin said, it really is baptism by fire and history says Kelly is in for a challenging debut. But, teams that win the Super Bowl usually have contributions from everybody on the roster and this season will likely be no different.  For Kameron Kelly, we've already seen that all he needs, is a chance and he can be extraordinary.