Inside The Vikings

Ryan Kelly Announces Retirement — Here's What It Means for the Vikings

Kelly, who suffered three concussions last season, has called it quits after a decade in the NFL.
Will Ragatz|
Ryan Kelly snaps the ball against the Atlanta Falcons.
Ryan Kelly snaps the ball against the Atlanta Falcons. | Images Courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

In this story:

Minnesota Vikings

Vikings center Ryan Kelly has announced his retirement after ten seasons in the NFL. He revealed the news on social media on Friday afternoon.

"10 seasons. What an incredible ride it was," Kelly wrote. "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."

Kelly was drafted by the Colts in the first round of Alabama in 2016. He went on to spend nine seasons in Indianapolis, making four Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team from 2019-23. But after he missed seven games in 2024, the Colts allowed Kelly to leave in free agency. The Vikings signed him to a two-year, $18 million contract, a little over half of which was guaranteed.

When Kelly was on the field in 2025, he was excellent. Among 42 centers who played at least 200 snaps last season, his 82.2 PFF grade ranked fourth. The issue was that after suffering multiple concussions earlier in his career, Kelly picked up three more over the course of the season.

The first concussion came in Week 2 against the Falcons and caused Kelly to miss the following game. He was able to play in Dublin in Week 4, but he suffered his second concussion in a 15-day span during that contest. Kelly then hit injured reserve and missed two months. He eventually returned, wearing a new helmet and a Guardian Cap, only to get concussed a third time in a late December game against the Giants.

That third concussion — the sixth documented one of his career — threw Kelly's NFL future into question. And as was somewhat expected, the Giants game was the final one of his career.

Kelly's retirement clears another $8.3 million in cap space off of the Vikings' books, with a dead cap charge of just $3.4 million. That brings Minnesota to nearly $27 million in total cap space.

The Vikings are now in the market for a new starting center to complete their offensive line. They'll have a variety of options at that position in both free agency and the draft.

The top free agent centers, Tyler Linderbaum and Connor McGovern, may be too expensive. But others like Cade Mays, Ethan Pocic, Luke Fortner, and Sean Rhyan could be options for Minnesota. There are no first-round centers in the draft, but Day 2 or Day 3 targets could include Connor Lew (Auburn), Jake Slaughter (Florida), Logan Jones (Iowa), Pat Coogan (Indiana), and Matt Gulbin (Michigan State), among others.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

Share on XFollow WillRagatz
Home/News