The Chiefs officially welcomed back Stefen Wisniewski to the roster on Tuesday.
The Kansas City Chiefs officially welcomed back a familiar face to the roster on Tuesday, and the timing could not be better for Stefen Wisniewski’s return to the team.
Wisniewski will be joining their practice squad for now before he’s likely promoted to the active roster, the same sort of introductory or on-boarding move that the team also did with cornerback Deandre Baker’s signing.
The Chiefs had wanted Wisniewski back for this season already back in the spring, but the veteran offensive lineman spurned their advances in order to make a childhood dream come true to play for his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers signed him to a two-year deal in free agency, but unfortunately Wisniewski was injured during the first game of the season after only 58 snaps.
The Steelers placed him on injured reserve but apparently liked what they saw in younger players who stepped up to replace him because they reached an injury settlement that allowed him to leave and sign with another team. The Chiefs used that opportunity to bring back aboard an important mid-season signing from 2019 who helped cement the offensive front for the stretch run.
Wisniewski brings experience at multiple positions and it will be interesting to see where the Chiefs slot him in, if indeed he’s able to secure a starting spot once again. Nick Allegretti has held down the left guard spot since Kelechi Osemele was injured after Week 4. Andrew Wylie is starting at right guard in place of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif who opted out this season due to COVID-19.
The Chiefs also activated Martinas Rankin from the reserve/COVID list, which means the team has two incoming players to help stabilize a front line that has gone through the ringer this year with injuries and inconsistent play. The Chiefs have rotated Daniel Kilgore and Austin Reiter at center, and have worked around injuries to Mitchell Schwartz, Osemele and Rankin along with opt outs by Lucas Niang and Duvernay-Tardif.
Wisniewski started two games for the Chiefs last season before also starting every single game in the team’s postseason run at left guard.