On Thursday, the unfortunate news broke that Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly has jaw cancer once again. A day later, word has come down that he needs jaw surgery.
Jim Kelly had cancer once, and he beat it. Now, he has cancer again, and he’s preparing for another victory. After the Kelly family released a statement about the former quarterback having recurring cancer in his jaw, the NFL world rallied around him in support, something that won’t be subsiding for some time.
Now, the news is that Kelly will need reconstructive upper jaw surgery so the cancer can be eradicated. One can only hope (and pray, if so inclined) that modern medicine can do the trick for the Hall of Famer.
Kelly was a brilliant player during his 11-year NFL career. Even the casual football fan knows most of the story at this point, with Kelly and the Bills going to four consecutive Super Bowls — the only team ever to do that — between 1990-93, only to lose them all. After retiring in 1996, Kelly endured the brutal loss of his only son, Hunter, who passed away of Krabbe Disease at the age of eight. Both Hunter and Jim share the same birthday of Valentine’s Day.
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Kelly previously was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 but was cleared of any symptoms the following year. Unfortunately, after three years of being without the disease, a biopsy revealed that the cancer had returned.
Currently, the Kelly family still has skin in the NFL game, with Jim’s nephew, Chad, playing for the Denver Broncos. He was a seventh-round selection out of Ole Miss last year.