There wasn’t an abundance of highlights from the Kansas City Chiefs’ first preseason game, and one of the top plays was initially called an incompletion before head coach Andy Reid decided to throw the red challenge flag.
You can even see one of the two officials on the play nearly confirm this nine-yard catch by tight end Jared Wiley on the field, but regardless, the toe tap worked. It was the only reception Wiley had over the 16 snaps he was on the field with the Chiefs’ offense, but it was the kind of play he has always taken pride in.
He talked about that at the podium following Monday’s training camp practice at Missouri Western State University in St. Joe.
“Those types of catches are what I’ve prided myself on since I was in college,” Wiley said to local media. “Making those hard grabs. I’m a big guy, and the quarterback trusts me to put it up there where nobody else can reach it… Being able to be kind of a safety net or safety blanket for my quarterback whenever he is in trouble, however that needs to look.”
After Wiley tore his ACL during his rookie season, the 6-foot-6 tight end hasn’t had the chance to showcase the skill he takes so much pride in. During his final season at TCU, Wiley led all FBS tight ends in red-zone touchdowns (5).
He shared some of the obstacles he has overcome since tearing up his knee in November 2024.
“Stiffness. I had a lot of stiffness last year,” Wiley shared. “Still was dealing with some swelling and stuff like that.
“I would say the main thing though is mentally – just mentally trust yourself,” Wiley continued. “Being able to do OTAs this offseason was a huge help. Just working through a bunch of that stuff and then by the time the season gets here you repeat these things so many times that you don’t even think about it anymore. Where last year, I felt like I was thinking about a lot before I was going in and out of breaks, before I was doing stuff.”
Wiley was asked when he felt like he got over the hump of the injury.
“Honestly, just a lot of stuff in the offseason that I did this year,” he answered. “I was able to actually work out instead of rehab this offseason, so that was big. You know, getting with some of my guys, route running, weightlifting, stuff like that. I was even doing Pilates. Literally whatever I could do to just try to work through some of those growing pains again.”
In a better spot physically and mentally, the former fourth-round pick has been firmly in the mix with the starting offense, working into multi-tight end sets alongside Travis Kelce and Noah Gray more so than young teammates like Jake Briningstool and Tre Watson.
Head coach Andy Reid is a fan of what he is seeing out of the position overall.
“They’re all getting better, which leads to great competition there, so I like what we see. Jake and Tre are doing a nice job. Jared’s doing a good job, so happy with that spot. We’ve just got to keep growing. They’ve got a few things they can correct from this game, which will be good for them, but the energy’s right; the willingness to block is right. We’ve just got to keep growing there.”
