Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly suffered a serious non-contact injury in Sunday's Week 14 loss to the Denver Broncos . Head coach Pete Carroll called the injury "significant," and it was eventually revealed that Kelly had ruptured his patellar tendon in his left knee. The Raiders have already placed him on season-ending IR .
John Spytek and Carroll inherited Kelly from the previous regime. Despite putting their thumbprints on the roster this offseason, they retained Kelly and watched him earn a starting job in training camp. The former Stanford standout started eight games this season with three interceptions and six pass breakups.
The injury complicates Kelly's future with the Raiders. He's scheduled for restricted free agency this coming offseason. Given the team-friendly nature of restricted free agency, the Raiders should go ahead and extend Kelly.
Kelly's current AAV (average annual salary) with the Raiders was under $1 million per season. Spytek can probably place an original round tender on Kelly considering he was drafted in the fifth round and retain him at a similar team-friendly price. No team will be willing to part with premium draft capital in order to sign him away from the Raiders.
If Kelly did receive a qualifying offer from another franchise, the Raiders would possess "first right of refusal" rights, meaning they'd be able to match any offer. If Spytek refused, he'd be entitled to receiving draft-pick compensation in exchange for Kelly's rights. The competitive cornerback will almost certainly be back in Silver & Black next season.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders should re-sign CB Kyu Blu Kelly despite season-ending injury
