Well, I thought 4 years was enough to be compelling, considering we have had the exact same debate every year and appear to be in the same position every year, of having more players than spots, but turn out not to be due to "unforeseen" circumstances. But if that is too small a sample size for you, Kelly also told the press recently something to the effect that "See, everybody thinks we kick these guys out ... we don't kick these prospective fifth years out; we have a conversation with them about what their role will be, and they decide to accept it or not." I wish I could find the exact language or remember exactly when that was.
Obviously, that gives Kelly some leeway, and I won't say that Kelly will never edge out a player who has been a problem or isn't healthy or just can't play at this level. But someone like Amir, who has proven that he is capable of making on-field contibutions -- the ball is in his court, not Kelly's. He's 100% coming back if he wants to.
