Chad Kelly blames himself for injury, Toronto Argonauts’ CFL playoff loss

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Chad Kelly believes he’s to blame for the Toronto Argonauts one-and-done playoff exit after leaving the East Semi-Final with a right shoulder injury.

“It’s a long, taxing season, but you gotta be available. Not just being out there, but you gotta make sure that you play every game,” Kelly told the media on Sunday while cleaning out his locker. “I feel like I let the team down; I let my boys down. Sucks.”

The Argos suffered a 25-22 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday at BMO Field, ending the team’s 2026 season. Kelly left the game with around 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, clutching his right shoulder after a short completion to Canadian receiver David Ungerer III. The six-foot-one, 216-pound QB later told TSN he felt the shoulder “separating” when he attempted to throw.

Kelly’s injury occurred two drives prior, when defensive lineman Michael Fletcher wrenched his throwing arm backwards while stripping the ball loose on a sack. Fellow Winnipeg pass rusher David Reese scooped up the fumble and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown, flipping momentum in favour of the Bombers.

“Maybe I could have gotten rid of it sooner. Maybe I could have stepped up even more. We had a special play drawn up on their defensive side of how they adjusted to that personnel and formation, and it is what it is. We’ve got to be better,” Kelly said. “Obviously, that play was the changing force of the game; 19 to 10, we’re on their side of the field and trying to hit a shot play right before the start of the fourth quarter. I feel like that was the game right there.”

Stepping up was easier said than done for the 32-year-old pivot against Winnipeg. The typically mobile passer revealed his ability to move throughout the contest was hindered by a knee injury suffered against the Ottawa Redblacks in Week 20, which forced him out of that game and caused him to miss the regular-season finale.

“I felt like I couldn’t really run at all. I know there were two times that I definitely would have ran, but I couldn’t,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t 100, for sure.”

Head coach Mike Miller knew Kelly was limited by his knee throughout the game, and it influenced his own play-calling strategy.

“He was cleared to play, but I think, at this point in the year, everybody’s banged up a little bit,” he said. “We had some plays that I felt if we needed to, if the game was on the line or such, that maybe I would dial up, but I wasn’t looking to take advantage of those plays until that kind of situation.”

Miller revealed he did not immediately recognize that his franchise quarterback had been injured on the strip-sack. Initially, he was given no indication Kelly would be unable to continue, though he later chose to remove himself.

“He’s a really tough guy, and he’s a really tough competitor. It wasn’t anything initially that I thought about, but seeing him move his arm around a little bit when he was coming off, I thought, ‘We’ll have to see,'” he recalled. “I wasn’t alarmed. He never said anything to me initially, but throughout the evaluating process and going back out there, he determined that it wasn’t right.”

Kelly played parts of two offensive series after suffering the injury. He began the next drive with an incomplete pass to Ungerer, which drew a pass interference penalty, then connected with Kevin Mital for a first down and missed Tyler Kahmann deep in Winnipeg territory, bringing about a Lirim Hajrullahu field goal attempt.

After the Bombers went two-and-out, he returned to the field and hit Isaiah Smith and Ungerer for short gains. The Buffalo, N.Y. native then quickly called for a substitution after his final throw, believing he “couldn’t control the football anymore.”

“I felt it at that time (when the strip-sack occurred); I wanted to keep pushing through it. It’s playoffs,” Kelly said. “I tried pushing through it, and I knew that at some point it was going to catch up to me because the ball was spraying. Instead of being able to flick it off my wrist and really be accurate with the football, I didn’t feel comfortable being out there.”

Kelly finished the game 18-of-30 passing for 193 yards with one touchdown. Backup Nick Arbuckle completed two-of-six passes for 25 yards, but was unable to stem a Winnipeg comeback.

Miller dismissed his quarterback’s suggestion that he was responsible for the defeat due to his injury, taking his comments as an indication of his character.

“He’s a leader. He’s everything you want in your quarterback. He’s a guy that the buck stops with him, whether it’s on him or not,” Miller said. “Frankly, we say quarterbacks often get more credit than you deserve and more blame in the same fashion. He’s a pro’s pro quarterback. I’m very proud of him, and he’s a generous teammate. He’s a leader to the end, and he’s going to place everything on him as the quarterback. I can’t say enough about him. Very proud of him.”

Miller provided no indication as to the extent of the injuries to Kelly’s shoulder and knee. No. 12 said he felt “a little sore” following the loss and told TSN his knee could take four-to-six weeks to recover.

After signing the richest contract extension in the CFL’s salary cap era, Kelly will spend the offseason in Toronto with his health as the priority.

“Rehab, get right, and make sure I’m ready for the full season,” Kelly said. “Take some time off, get with the right people, and get healthy. It’s a long season. It’s a tough season. It’s tough football.”