Jim Kelly Surprises Bills at Practice

“I wasn’t expecting this, and sometimes it’s hard for me to talk but I want to first of all thank the guys who sent prayers when I was going through a tough time,” Kelly told the team when he addressed them. “One thing I noticed about Buffalo, New York is that everybody comes together. There’s always somebody to pull you together, whether it’s on the football field or after a tough year or whether it was when I was in the hospital.”

Thurman Thomas, he’s one of my brothers now,” he said. “He always has been, but he came out to the hospital when I was there every week.

“This is what you need to put your arms around – each other. Make this your team. Make it very special. Realize it, because when it’s all over, the things you have are your memories. The people that you built that relationship with – not just on the football field but away from the field.”

Last but not least, this is a very special team,” he said. “For me personally, I look over and see EJ – and I thought I had great recievers, which I did in Andre Reed, Hall of Famer, James Lofton, Hall of Famer – but when I look at the offense with the running backs, recievers and offensive line … defense, you better get ready to get on the field quick because they’re going to score some points this year.”

Kelly was then asked to huddle the team up and give a “one, two, three playoffs!”