John Marshall Kelly Jr. (born October 4, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

Early life

Born in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

, and later moving to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

at the age of 12, Kelly attended Oak Park High School in

Oak Park, Michigan Oak Park is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Oak Park borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 29,560. Hi ...

. He played on the

team for head coach Greg Carter. He was a three-year starter for the Knights and contributed on offense as a

, on defense as a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, and a

returner is a 2002 Japanese science fiction action film directed, co-written, and with visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki. It stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Anne Suzuki as a hitman and time traveler, respectively, who team up in present-day Japan to preve ...

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. As a senior, he recorded 25

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on offense and 39

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

on defense. He was named to the

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Michigan All-State Team. Kelly received offers from Tennessee,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

among others. Kelly committed to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

to play

under head coach

Butch Jones Lyle Allen "Butch" Jones Jr. (born January 17, 1968) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Arkansas State University. Jones previously served as a special assistant to the head coach and offensive analyst at the Univ ...

College career

Kelly attended and played college football for the

from 2015 to 2017.

Freshman year

As a freshman in the 2015 season, Kelly was the third running back behind

Jalen Hurd Jalen Tyler Hurd (born January 23, 1996) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football at the University of Tennessee for three years and Baylor for one year. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers i ...

and Alvin Kamara. He saw occasional time in relief and late-game situations. He made his collegiate debut in the season opener against the

Bowling Green Falcons The Bowling Green Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowling Green State University (BGSU), in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The Falcons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Divi ...

. In the 59–30 victory, he had eight carries for 29 yards. After various appearances throughout the season, he scored his first career touchdown, a one-yard rush in the fourth quarter, in the

2016 Outback Bowl The 2016 Outback Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on January 1, 2016, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was the 30th edition of the Outback Bowl (previously called the Hall of Fame Bowl), featuring the ...

in the 45–6 victory over the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...

. He finished the season with 40 carries for 165 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore year

As a sophomore in the 2016 season, Kelly started the season in a similar role to the previous year as Hurd and Kamara both returned. He made his season debut in the 2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol against

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. In the 45–24 victory, he had one carry for four yards and a touchdown. Later on, an opportunity arose for Kelly, as Hurd had some team issues and did not play in the game against Texas A&M. In the game against

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, Kelly was the second running back behind Kamara. He had 13 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown in the double overtime loss. After a quiet game against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, he had 14 carries for 94 yards in a loss against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. After the loss, Hurd quit the team and Kelly firmly took the role as the second running back. In the game against

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie, the name unde ...

, he had seven carries for 104 yards and a touchdown. After some solid performances to close the regular season, he had 15 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown in the victory over

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

in the 2016 Music City Bowl. Overall, in his sophomore season, Kelly had 98 carries for 630 yards and five touchdowns.

Junior year

With Kamara entering the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

, Kelly returned as the main running back for the Volunteers for the 2017 season. Kelly started the season sharing the backfield with Ty Chandler and Carlin Fils-Aime. In the season opener against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

Mercedes-Benz Stadium Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it is the home of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Atlanta ...

, Kelly had a career day in Tennessee's 42–41 double overtime victory. In the game, he had 19 carries for 128 yards and four rushing touchdowns and five receptions for 35 yards. In the 26–20 loss to

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

, he had 19 carries for 141 yards and a rushing touchdown. In addition, he had six receptions for 96 yards in the game. On September 23, against

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, he had 25 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. On September 30, against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, he had 44 rushing yards and 47 receiving yards in the 41–0 loss. On November 4, he recorded 20 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns against Southern Miss. On November 18, against

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, he had 25 carries for 47 yards, three receptions for 31 yards, and threw a 10-yard pass in the 30–10 loss. In his final collegiate game, a 42–24 loss to Vanderbilt, he had 10 carries for 20 yards and a rushing touchdown. Overall, he finished the 2017 season with 778 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns, 37 receptions, and 299 receiving yards. On December 29, 2017, Kelly declared his intentions to enter the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

Statistics

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Kelly was drafted by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in the sixth round (176th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was selected by the Rams through a pick that was previously acquired from the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in exchange for Alec Ogletree. He signed a four-year contract on June 9, 2018. He joined a running backs unit of

Todd Gurley Todd Jerome Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Georg ...

and Malcolm Brown. During the game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in Week 13, Brown suffered a clavicle injury, giving Kelly the opportunity for playing time. He made his NFL debut on special teams against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in Week 14, playing seven snaps. In the following game, against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, he recorded his first professional carries with two for four yards. With Gurley sitting out Week 16, Kelly recorded 10 carries for 40 yards and had a nine-yard reception against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

in Week 16. Gurley again was inactive for Week 17 against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, giving Kelly the opportunity to have 15 carries for 30 rushing yards and a 18-yard reception. In the Divisional Round against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, he had a special teams tackle in his playoff debut. He saw playing time on special teams in the NFC Championship Game and

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

. Overall, in his rookie year, he finished with 74 rushing yards. Kelly was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019, but was signed the next day to the Rams'

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on October 12, 2019. He was waived on November 16, 2019, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 28, 2019. He was waived on September 4, 2020.

Cleveland Browns (first stint)

Kelly was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

' to their practice squad on September 9, 2020. He was released on December 15, but re-signed to the practice squad the next day. The Browns signed Kelly to a reserve/futures contract on January 19, 2021. Kelly was waived by the Browns on August 31. Kelly was re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on September 1. He was promoted to the active roster on October 19. He was waived on November 20 and re-signed to the practice squad. The Browns signed Kelly to a reserve/futures contract on January 19, 2022. The Browns terminated Kelly's contract on August 30, 2022. The Browns signed Kelly to their practice squad on August 31, 2022. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023. He was waived on August 29, 2023. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 27. Kelly was released on November 21 and re-signed on November 28. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 15, 2024. Kelly was released by the Browns on August 12, 2024.

Baltimore Ravens

On August 13, 2024, Kelly signed with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. He was released on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad. Kelly was called up to play in two games for the Ravens. He played zero offensive snaps, but had two kick returns for 46 yards. Kelly was released on October 1.

Los Angeles Chargers

On December 2, 2024, Kelly signed with the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

practice squad.

Cleveland Browns (second stint)

On December 31, 2024, the

signed Kelly to their active roster.

References

External links

Collegiate statistics at Sports-Reference.com John Kelly
on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Joliet, Illinois Players of American football from Detroit American football running backs Oak Park High School (Michigan) alumni Tennessee Volunteers football players Los Angeles Rams players Cleveland Browns players Baltimore Ravens players Los Angeles Chargers players