If Ryan Lilja makes the decision to return and tries to land on the Kansas City Chiefs 53-man roster, the decision likely wouldn't come until closer to training camp, according to the Kansas City Star's Adam Teicher. However, no deal is imminent, Teicher reports.
At the end of last season when Lilja retired, he talked about getting some surgical work done on his body that he had been putting off while he was playing. Apparently he did have those surgeries -- on his knee and his toe, according to Teicher.
You wanna see something kinda gross? Check out this picture of Lilja's toe at the end of last season. I'm no doctor but is it a bad thing when parts of your toe are black? Hmm.
Lilja played hurt throughout all of last season. He was constantly beat up but actually put in a solid season. Pro Football Focus graded him out positively as a center. Jeff Allen, Lilja's replacement at guard, did not grade out so well.
The Chiefs have several options at guard right now, though it's unclear who has the edge. Jon Asamoah is a starter and Jeff Allen was a second round pick last year so they're (probably) not going anywhere. Bryan Mattison was re-signed for depth purposes. Then there's Geoff Schwartz, signed this offseason. He says he prefers guard but that the Chiefs told him the best five will play. The Chiefs website has him listed as a tackle.
Next Tuesday is the start of a 3-day minicamp at Arrowhead, which could be when we start to sort some of this out.
Look for an offensive line breakdown later today. The Chiefs situation is very interesting because there are multiple players who could play multiple positions. Makes it difficult to predict how the line will look.
More reading:
Charlie Weis has a Dexter McCluster at KU
Brady Quinn beats out Tyler Thigpen in Seattle