Welcome to the NFL, Kameron Kelly. Your first test? The greatest quarterback of all-time.
“Let’s get it,” Kelly said Wednesday. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. A lot, a lot of fun. I’ve got butterflies right now, but after the initial contact, the first little hit, that’ll be gone.
“I’ve been preparing for this since I was a little kid. So I’m trying not to think about it or make it too big of a deal. I just want to go out there and play ball.”
Kelly confirmed he was used with the first-team offense during practice Wednesday, rotating in with cornerback Mike Hilton at safety, alongside starter Terrell Edmunds. Pittsburgh's normal free safety starter, Sean Davis, has been dealing with an injury suffered in the third preseason game.
It is not an unfamiliar spot for Kelly, who has worked with the first team in the spring and during training camp. But now, just days away from facing Brady, it is starting to get real.
“For me, it’s been real the whole time,” Kelly said. “A lot of people come out here and go through the motions. But, since day one, I’ve had to come in here and be on my P’s and Q’s.
“Anything in football, it’s really hard to just get thrown in there and do it. So, the fact that I’ve been getting these reps, playing in the AAF, getting switched around and having to stay on my toes, that’s for sure helping me.”
The challenge of facing Brady for a safety, ultimately, comes down to his ability to use his eyes to look off defensive backs, causing confusion in the secondary.
“That’s what Brady does,” Kelly saids. “He’s real good from the neck above. We have to make sure we go out there and do what we do.
“There’s really not much to say. Everything that there is about Brady, everybody already knows. He’s great at reading the defenses, he’s really hard to trick and he’s going to put the ball in the right spot. We’ve got to make sure we’re in the right spot to pick it off or make the tackle.”
But, even though it will be his first game, can Kelly confuse Brady?
“I don’t know, I’ll try,” he said. “Usually quarterbacks that have played that long don’t get tricked.”