Chad Kelly

Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly (10) throws a pass against Georgia Southern in November.

(Thomas Graning | The Associated Press)

Orchard Park, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley went on the record at the 2017 Senior Bowl in saying the team would do plenty of homework on Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly, the nephew of Bills legend Jim Kelly.

Whaley said the Bills will do their homework on Kelly and said the team will meet with him at some point. That meeting, however, won't take place at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Kelly was not among the 330 players invited to the combine, and it may have something to do with his off-the-field issues. The NFL can bar players from the combine for off-field issues, and Kelly did plead guilty to disorderly conduct following a nightclub brawl in Buffalo two years ago.

Kelly is trying to prove to teams that his off-field issues are behind him. He's coming off a torn ACL, got dismissed from Clemson before enrolling at Ole Miss and as recently as this year stormed onto the field at a high school football game to defend his brother. He went to the 2017 Senior Bowl despite not being physically ready to perform because he wanted to make himself available for interviews with teams.

He won't get that same opportunity at the NFL Scouting Combine. Kelly will now have to rely on his pro day and private visits with teams to set decision makers' minds at ease about his personality and temperament. If Kelly's lack of combine invite is because of his off-field issues, it makes one wonder about the NFL's policy. The combine is the exact type of environment a player like Kelly could use to rehabilitate his image, but he won't get that chance.

Kelly isn't perfect on the field, either. He has outstanding arm strength, but he also takes too many chances with the football. Maybe the biggest question the Bills have to answer is whether Kelly could handle the pressure of playing in Buffalo, where his uncle was a legend.

"That's something you put in the back of your mind, but then you rely on the mental makeup of the player," Whaley said at the Senior Bowl. "If Chad is mentally strong enough, that's not going to phase him. That's one of those things that you want to find out, because you want a quarterback that's not phased by outside pressure."

How will Kelly respond to getting left out of the combine? His response could tell NFL teams a lot about his maturity.