Mike Miller claims no deception regarding Chad Kelly’s status, ‘expects’ return after Argos bye week

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Toronto Argonauts’ head coach Mike Miller expects franchise quarterback Chad Kelly to be back in the lineup following his team’s upcoming bye, but whether fans and opponents believe him may be influenced by recent precedent.

The first-time bench boss had expressed optimism throughout this week that Kelly would suit up despite an injury to his throwing hand that caused him to miss practice on Tuesday and limited him in the other sessions. He went so far as to tell TSN on Thursday that he expected his star signal caller to play, only for him to be officially ruled out when depth charts were released the following morning.

Speaking to the media after Toronto’s 24-17 loss to the B.C. Lions, Miller claimed that there was no attempt to obfuscate Kelly’s status.

“What I do say is I assess it every day, and that’s how it went along the week,” he said. “Chad and I had a conversation, and we felt that was the best thing moving forward into this game. As I tell you guys, I reassess everybody every day, and that’s just how that went.”

Kelly appeared to suffer the injury late in Toronto’s Week 17 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers when he hit his right hand on the outstretched arm of defensive lineman Michael Fletcher. The 32-year-old finished that game, and multiple insider reports throughout the following week stated that he was not at serious risk of missing time.

That narrative changed quickly overnight after the team’s final practice session, catching even backup quarterback Nick Arbuckle off-guard.

“Me and some of the other quarterbacks were talking about how it was playing out. We were all honestly thinking it was going to go the other way,” he admitted post-game.

“Chad is just such a tough guy and warrior. He’s battled through things like this before where he gets banged up, he’s not able to practice full and take every rep throughout the week, but he always ended up playing. Just how game-planning was going, how reps were going, and the progression he was making, I was surprised yesterday at 8:00 a.m. when I heard it. Still was preparing to be the guy throughout the week like I always would, but Chad’s just such a warrior; you would never count him out until you hear it.”

Arbuckle has plenty of experience filling in for Kelly. He was named the MVP of the 2024 Grey Cup a week after the former NFL Draft pick suffered a broken leg, and spent the entire 2025 season as the Argonauts’ primary starter while he recovered.

The 33-year-old was once again competent against B.C., completing 27-of-33 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. However, Arbuckle was stopped short twice at the goal line in the final minute, which resulted in Toronto’s defeat.

“He went out and competed. Felt he gave us a chance to win,” Miller said. “This will be a game that we always have stuff to learn from, but I thought Nick went in there and battled hard. Thought he gave us a chance.

Kelly has completed 70.9 percent of his passes for 5,067 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions over 15 starts this season. Despite his absence this week, he remains the CFL leader in passing yardage.

Toronto has 12 days until their next game, which should allow Kelly plenty of time to recover. However, the team can no longer move up or down in the standings over their final two contests, already locked in to second in the East Division and guaranteed to host the Eastern Semi-Final on October 31.

That affords Miller the luxury of being cautious with his top QB if he so chooses, though he will stick to a familiar talking point in the meantime.

“I would expect (Kelly to play),” he said. “But again, that’s something that we’ll just continue to reassess every day as we go forward.”

The Argonauts (9-7) will return to action on Friday, October 16, when they visit the Ottawa Redblacks (0-15).