The Las Vegas Raiders don't have the deepest roster during the 2025 NFL season. Otherwise, they might have been more inclined to make significant changes to the starting lineup amid their now 2-11 campaign after a Week 14 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Competition is always key under head coach Pete Carroll, and on Sunday, the Raiders went back to rotating between Darien Porter and Kyu Blu Kelly at cornerback opposite Eric Stokes. The two have been competing for the second starting role all season.
Kelly, unfortunately, went down with an injury during the second quarter of the Raiders' showdown with the Broncos. It didn't look promising, as they brought the cart out for the Las Vegas native, his teammates came onto the field to console him, and he was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.
Raiders' Kyu Blu Kelly ruptures patellar tendon, will miss rest of season
Most fans expected that Kelly would be out for the remaining four games of the season, but they were holding out hope that the injury wasn't too serious. Well, their worst fears were confirmed on Monday morning.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported that Kelly suffered a ruptured patellar tendon, which can be anywhere from a three-month recovery to a full-year recovery, depending on the severity. This puts him out for the year, and perhaps much longer.
There is a bit of good news, however, which is that Kelly did not sustain any ligament damage in his knee. That is incredibly promising for his long-term outlook and serves as a silver lining in this tough time for the third-year pro.
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Although he had his share of ups and downs during this campaign, Kelly was leading the Raiders with three interceptions on the year. His six passes defended were also tied with Maxx Crosby for the team lead, and Kelly also recorded 40 tackles, including one for a loss, and a forced fumble.
After being largely cast aside during the offseason, Kelly had a meteoric rise during training camp and the preseason. He played his way into a full-time starting role with Las Vegas for the first time in his young career and played more snaps in Week 1 of this year than he had in his entire career prior.
Kelly showed enough promise this season that the Raiders should want him back in some capacity next year, whenever it is that he gets healthy. Hopefully, Kelly makes a full and speedy recovery and eventually returns to the lineup in Las Vegas with a vengeance.