Andrew Wylie is a very cheap starting option for the Chiefs right now, but it’s not too long until he deserves an extension.
When Laurent Duvernay-Tardif took to the podium to answer questions during Kansas City Chiefs minicamp, he provided an answer to a question that no one had yet asked—namely how the team planned on sorting out the starters along the offensive line.
The primary questions for the Chiefs offensive front came along the interior. Duvernay-Tardif was largely answering questions about coming back from injury, but a pleasant surprise came along in LDT’s absence in the form of Andrew Wylie’s emergence. It was a process that began in training camp last summer when Wylie began to turn heads as a journeyman performing better than expected at St. Joseph and continued as Wylie filled in admirably while Duvernay-Tardif was healing from a broken fibula.
Wylie took a circuitous path to the Chiefs which is why no one saw him coming. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens, and Wylie’s future would include short-lived stops with the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts before landing with the Chiefs. It should be noted that Wylie’s inability to help the Colts at that point in time should have led anyone to believe that Wylie was without any real hope for a pro career given Indy’s decimated line. Fortunately, Brett Veach and company saw something worth pursuing despite his previously failed attempts to make an NFL team.
Wylie not only looked good in August filling in for LDT after suffering a concussion but he did the same for the bulk of the regular season. In fact, Wylie performed so well that he was awarded the Mack Lee Hill Award after season’s end, which goes to the best overall first-year performer on the Chiefs. It was a testament to Wylie’s hard work, talent, and the Chiefs coaching staff.
Moving forward, it seems as if Wylie was not simply a super sub who stepped in at the right time. According to Duvernay-Tardif’s revealing answers last week, the Chiefs are currently running with a front line of Eric Fisher, Wylie, Austin Reiter, LDT, and Mitchell Schwartz as the starting five. That means Wylie has supplanted Cameron Erving as the team’s starting left guard.
It also means the Chiefs have a new name as the cheapest starter along the offensive line. Wylie is set to make $570K this coming year, and as an exclusive rights free agent, Wylie can only negotiate with the Chiefs for the 2020 season as well. Players in this position typically get offered the veteran minimums for their third year, as established by the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which means Wylie will likely earn $700K or less in 2020.
That’s a predicted total haul of $1.2 million over two seasons for a starting left guard—not bad for Brett Veach. That said, if the Chiefs want to maintain good will with Wylie, they’ll also know that plenty of other teams would be happy to add starting talent across the offensive line. Perhaps even within the next 12 months, it means the Chiefs will likely be motivated to offer Wylie something more to secure his services for an additional year or two.
If Wylie locks down this left guard role in training camp and proves himself to be an average to above average performer during the regular season, Wylie is going to make himself a few million as a potential starter or possible super sub/spot starter for some NFL team even if the Chiefs take a hard stance and let him walk. For now, he’s playing for relative peanuts which gives the Chiefs some unexpected wiggle room.