New Player Profile: Tackle Andrew Wylie

April 7, 2023

by Steve Thomas

Washington signed tackle Andrew Wylie, who is 6’6” and 310 pounds, to a 3 year, $24M contract on March 13, right at the start of free agency.  His contract included an $8M signing bonus and a total of $12M guaranteed at signing, which includes his 2023 base salary and a portion of his 2024 base salary.  This season, he has a $4.17M cap hit and a $12M pre-June 1 dead cap number and a $6.67M post-June 1 dead cap, meaning that Washington can’t cut him this season without incurring a significant cap penalty.  His cap hit rises to more than $9.4M in 2024, with a $7.8M dead cap, so 2023 is most likely a tryout year for this player.  So who is Andrew Wylie?  Let’s take a quick look at his background.

Wylie is a native of Michigan who played his college ball at Eastern Michigan.  He was originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and was put on the practice squad, but then moved to the practice squads of the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Chargers that season.  He eventually settled with Kansas City in January, 2018, and stay there on the active roster through the end of last season.  In total, from 2018 through 2022, Wylie played in 71 games, including 59 starts, left guard, right guard, and right tackle.

Clearly, new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy knows Wylie well and presumably played an integral role in his signing in Washington.  What’s less obvious is what position Wylie is going to play next season.  He’s versatile, with significant starting experience at both guard and tackle.  Washington, of course, needs help at both positions.  The rumor on the street is that he’s going to get the first shot at right tackle, and given the size of his contract, that makes sense.  Only Charles Leno and Chase Roullier have bigger contract in the offensive line group, and Wylie isn’t a center.  Therefore, putting Wylie at the right tackle position, with Samuel Cosmi moving inside to guard.

The great thing about the situation, though, is that if Washington ends up spending a high draft pick on a tackle, Wylie can move inside.  He has a reputation as a team player and the trust of Eric Bieniemy, so Wylie seems to be Washington’s new safety net in the offensive line group.

This is a decent first step towards fixing Washington’s biggest offensive problem.