Commanders’ latest roster move is a painful reminder of a roster misstep for Chiefs | OneFootball

The Kansas City Chiefs would like to have this one back.

On Thursday, the Washington Commanders made a minor move, the sort of financial wrangling that only certain segments of a team's fan base will ever care about, when they restructured the contract of offensive lineman Andrew Wylie. Monetary reshuffling for the sake of the cap is never going to generate clicks, and most Commanders' fans are likely going to yawn and move on.

For those of us in Chiefs Kingdom, however, the mention of Wylie and Washington's ability to employ him is a reminder that the Chiefs let one get away there—an o-line misstep that they'd probably love to take a mulligan on.

Two years ago, the Chiefs allowed Andrew Wylie to leave in free agency after five seasons spent with the team. Wylie was the ultimate super-sub and a notable success story for the front office after having unearthed him as a undrafted rookie who actually failed to make it work with three previous franchises in 2017 alone.

We're pretty sure the Chiefs' front office has different opinions about Andrew Wylie now.

Wylie joined the Chiefs late in the 2017-18 season after spending short stints on the offseason rosters and/or practice squads of the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Los Angeles Chargers. By the following October, he was already earning starting opps for the Chiefs and filled in for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif for over half the year.

Over his five seasons in K.C., Wylie would turn into a super sub who could make a solid effort as a starter inside and outside. That's why the Commanders wanted him in free agency and offered a three-year, $24 million contract.

At the time the Chiefs lost Wylie, who followed Eric Bieniemy to the Commanders, the feeling was that Wylie was useful but an upgrade was needed. The Chiefs made the decision to import Jawaan Taylor that offseason and the hope was that it would be money well spent in order to raise the ceiling at right tackle. It's funny how perspective can change.

These days, Taylor is making 2.5 times the amount that Wylie is making, and much of Chiefs Kingdom is still wishing for an upgrade at tackle—or at least a lesser option that doesn't make so much. As it turns out, Wylie looks like a great buy for a team in myriad ways, and that sort of security at multiple positions feels hard to come by when even finding reliable starters is difficult.

Good for the Commanders to provide homes for former Chiefs like Andrew Wylie and Nick Allegretti these days, but we're pretty sure K.C. would appreciate a chance to take back the Wylie decision now that there's some perspective on players and prices. Not every decision works out in a team's favor and Wylie's departure is one of them.