Denver Broncos: Time for Chad Kelly to be ready to go

A backup’s job is always to stay ready because you’re always just one play away from action. Denver Broncos backup Chad Kelly had better be ready on Sunday.

It’s a backup’s job in the NFL to always be ready for action. You never know when your number is going to be called upon. For Denver Broncos backup quarterback Chad Kelly, it’s really time to be ready.

According to multiple reports (first by Mike Klis), Broncos starting quarterback Case Keenum will not practice on Wednesday due to a dinged up knee following Sunday’s victory over the Oakland Raiders.

Keenum is expected to return to practice on Thursday and play on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, but Kelly should be on high alert at this point.

He is going to receive the majority of first-team reps on Wednesday, and all of the reps Kelly took in the preseason and training camp are now coming to a point where it’s imperative he is ready if his number is called upon.

Hopefully, this knee injury for Keenum is minor as the Broncos are making it seem, but if Keenum is ‘dinged’ up, Kelly might as well have a helmet on every time the Broncos’ offense comes out onto the field.

The offensive line is going to have to do everything it can to make sure Keenum doesn’t get hit, and it will be interesting to see how the Broncos — the league’s number two overall rushing offense — attack a Ravens defense that has been stingy on a per-play basis defensively.

The Ravens will be attacking Keenum as much as they possibly can with this update, trying to get Kelly onto the field.

After watching Kelly play in the preseason, however, my confidence level in him is high and I think he would do a great job if he were called into action.

Any time a quarterback is injured, the backup needs to be on high alert. At least in this situation, the Broncos will not be completely blindsided and Kelly will have these early reps to build off of throughout the week. Perhaps the Broncos will even increase his workload throughout the week even after Keenum comes back, but maybe this really isn’t that big of a deal.

The Broncos are being cautious with one of their most important players, but thankfully, unlike in recent years, the backup inspires a bit of confidence and obviously brings a whole lot of swag to the table.