The news is moving fast around the Minnesota Vikings as the new league year beckons, with salary cap space being cleared in big chunks. One of those moves to find cap space was the expected cut of veteran center Ryan Kelly, if he didn't decide to retire instead.
On Friday, Kelly shared on his X profile his decision to retire from the NFL after 10 seasons.
"10 seasons. What an incredible ride it was. I was blessed to be around some of the greatest people this sport has to offer. I always wanted to leave each place better than how I found it and with that I can hang my hat. Forever grateful for my family and brothers! Cheers"
As shared by ESPN's Kevin Seifert, Kelly posted a far more lengthy announcement of his retirement on his Instagram page.
Kelly was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2016 draft out of the University of Alabama. He spent the first nine seasons of his career in Indianapolis, earning four Pro Bowl nods with one Second Team All-Pro selection over a five-year stretch from 2019 to 2023.
But injuries started to become a significant factor in the equation. After he missed seven games in 2024, the Colts allowed Kelly to leave in free agency, and the Vikings signed him to a two-year, $18 million contract last offseason.
Ryan Kelly knew it was time to call it a career after 2025 season with Minnesota Vikings
Kelly's decision to retire is not because he can't get it done on the field anymore. If he'd had enough snaps to qualify last season, he would have been Pro Football Focus' fourth-highest graded center with top-five grades as both a run and pass blocker.
But Kelly only played eight games last season. He suffered two concussions in a 15-day span early, then he made it three concussions on the season in December against the New York Giants.
Those three concussions gave him six documented concussions in his NFL career, with five of them happening in the last three seasons.
In lieu of the expected move by Minnesota to cut him, the ongoing hope had been that Kelly would make the decision to move on himself.
And to his credit, since it is very hard for many players to make the decision to retire when they can still perform at a high level, he has done so after an excellent 10 seasons with nothing left to prove.