Andrew Wylie offers ideal perspective on preseason games

Kansas City Chiefs left guard Andrew Wylie offered up an ideal perspective before the team’s first preseason game with his own story.

Andrew Wylie knows a thing or two about the importance of the NFL preseason.

It’s easy as impatient fans to roll our eyes at teams charging full price for preseason games (they shouldn’t) and to wish the league’s regular season would just hurry up and get here. The game’s biggest stars will hardly get a chance to play, and there’s nothing official at stake—at least in the standings. Yet it’s also easy to forget that some of our favorite players are found in these very games, given the chance to shine under the lights.

In the hours before the Kansas City Chiefs kick off their preseason slate against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium, starting guard Andrew Wylie took some time to offer perspective of where he was last year at this time.

Third string tackle to starting left guard is quite a journey, but Wylie is right to note that preseason’s performers turn into regular season contributors—and maybe more. Wylie’s full story is even more impressive given that he’d been a journeyman before landing with the Chiefs. It wasn’t that he was a young drafted player who worked his way up; it’s that he kept trying despite failed stints elsewhere who then worked his way up.

What’s crazy about Wylie’s journey is that the three teams who passed on him have all dealt with very significant offensive line concerns in the last couple years. Back in 2017, the Indianapolis Colts line was among the very worst in the NFL, yet they signed and released Wylie. The San Diego Chargers are still looking for solid guard play two years later but did the same. The Cleveland Browns were certainly void of depth and talent all over the roster back in 2017 as well.

Fortunately, the Chiefs saw something in Wylie despite released by three other teams and drew their own conclusions after bringing him in. Wylie went on to win the Mack Lee Hill Award as the Chiefs top rookie in 2018 and has secured a starting spot for himself on a Super Bowl contender.

It’s a good reminder to watch closely for standout performers this preseason. You never know when they’ll turn into significant contributors or even household names.