Chiefs center Casey Wiegmann doesn’t want his streak snapped

ST. JOSEPH | By the time Ryan Lilja first joined the Chiefs in 2004, Casey Wiegmann’s NFL career was already something for a rookie offensive lineman to view with wonder.

Wiegmann had already put together an impressive career for an undrafted and undersized center out of Iowa. So imagine Lilja’s awe now. Wiegmann is 38 and still going strong, about to begin his 16th NFL season with a consecutive offensive-play streak of 10,141 dating to early 2001.

“He was an old-timer when I was a rookie,” Lilja said. “He’s one of the wonders of the world.”

Wiegmann may be one of the wonders of the football world, but he’s no museum piece. One of the first moves made by the Chiefs once the free-agent signing period began was to sign Wiegmann to a new contract.

He will, assuming he makes it through the preseason unharmed, start at center for the Chiefs on Sept. 11, when they open the regular season against Buffalo at Arrowhead Stadium. Coach Todd Haley wouldn’t have it any other way.

“There’s nobody more excited about Casey’s decision to come back and continue being a part of what he was such a big part of last year,” Haley said. “You don’t do what he’s done for as long as he’s done it by accident. He knows how to do it, he knows what to do.”

For that reason, Haley will use Wiegmann as a museum piece, or at least a teaching tool for his younger teammates.

“This group of (players) we have, you make sure occasionally that you say, ‘Take a look at (Wiegmann).’ ” Haley said. “He wrote the book on how to have a great career, so I’d be trying to do most of the things he’s doing.

“I think he’s the epitome of what I’ve coached for many, many years: being the same guy every day. He’ll be in the same seat (in meetings), he’ll be out on the field at the same time and not a lot changes. He’s just managed to get a little better each and every day in a lot of different areas.”

Wiegmann, 6 feet 2 and 285 pounds, acknowledged the decision to return for another season was more difficult than ever. But now that he’s made it, he said, he’s all in.

That means his snap streak will inevitably grow. The Chiefs may like to give Wiegmann some rest this season and give some playing time to Rodney Hudson, their second-round draft pick and Wiegmann’s eventual successor.

But they may have a battle getting Wiegmann out of the lineup. He refused to come out of games before, and now the streak is a prideful thing for a player told early in his NFL career that he would never make it.

“It first started just because I played with two (future) Hall of Famers (Will Shields and Willie Roaf),” Wiegmann said, recalling a couple of his teammates from his early seasons with the Chiefs.

“We only dressed seven guys, and those two were the guys that got to sit out when the game was out of control. As soon as those guys got done playing, I had the streak going, and I just kept going and going and going.

“I don’t know if it was a year or two ago, but the offensive-line coach said, ‘We’re going to take you out.’ I was like, ‘I’m not coming out, sorry.’ ”

He didn’t, not then or any other time since the streak started in 2001, his first season in Kansas City.

Haley and Chiefs offensive coordinator Bill Muir coached Wiegmann with the New York Jets early in his NFL career. His success was difficult to predict then, but Muir said that looking back, it makes sense.

“You just know when you see the right stuff,” Muir said. “He’s got over (10,000) straight snaps in the National Football League. That speaks volumes about the man and the football player.”

Asked Wiegmann’s secret, Muir said, “Genes. He has two kids. If I was a college coach, I’d give them scholarships right now.”

Haley said: “You knew he was a tough guy. I think early in ’97 or ’98, he was on a kickoff return, was in the wedge and went up in there and knocked himself out basically. You knew this guy was tough, (but) you know he’s probably too little . . .

“We formed a little connection, I would say in my opinion, and through the years every time we crossed paths it was one of those where when the game ended or before the game, you go catch up and say how are you doing, and you follow those types of guys that you’re rooting for, that maybe a lot of people are saying he doesn’t have a chance. Then as you see them have success, you enjoy following those kinds of guys.

“That’s the way it’s been with Casey, and I’m just grateful that he chose to come back to Kansas City with us and believed enough in what we were doing to be a part of it again this year.”

Wiegmann is in his second time around with the Chiefs. After playing for the Jets, Indianapolis and Chicago early in his career, Wiegmann was with the Chiefs during 2001-07. He then left for two seasons with Denver before returning last year.

He won’t be leaving again. Both sides want it that way.

“Kansas City has been good to me,” he said. “I’ve always said that. To finish my career here is the ultimate goal. I had the chance to go elsewhere, but like I said, this place has been good, and winning is happening here again, so it’s positive.”