A native son who played high school football at Shawnee Mission Northwest returns home, as the Kansas City Chiefs announced the signing of free agent offensive guard Ryan Lilja on Tuesday.

While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Adam Teicher of The Kansas City Star reports it is a three-year deal.

Lilja, who entered the NFL in 2004 as a rookie free agent with the Chiefs, previously played for the Indianapolis Colts from 2004-2009. The Colts recently released Lilja on March 8.

The 28-year-old pro has 59 career starts and appeared in 66 games with the Colts. He has started in eight playoff games, including Super Bowls XLI and XLIV, according to a Chiefs’ news release.

Lilja played collegiately at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas before transferring to Kansas State, where he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors as a senior.

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Chiefs free agent signings since March 5

OG Ryan Lilja on March 16
C Casey Wiegmann on March 12
WR Jerheme Urban on March 10
DL Shaun Smith on March 10
RB Thomas Jones on March 9
WR Chris Chambers on March 8
WR Terrance Copper on March 6
RB Jackie Battle (RFA) on March 5


Article posted on March 16, 2010