Ryan Matthew Lilja (born October 15, 1981) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The School colors, official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are gener ...

, and signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2004, and later played with them from 2010 to 2012. Lilja also played with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

from 2004 to 2009, with whom he won

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts season, Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2006 Chicago Bears season, Chicag ...

over the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Early life

Ryan and his brothers were raised in Kansas City. Lilja attended

Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Shawnee Mission Northwest High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Shawnee, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. It is one of five high schools operated by Shawnee Mission USD 512 school district. The ...

and was a student and a letterman in football and golf. In football, he was a three-year starter.

College career

He was a two-year starter at

Coffeyville Community College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a Public college, public community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas. It was founded in 1923. The official school colors are red and white. The mascot is the Red Raven. Their athletic teams are known ...

before he transferred to

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

, where he was a two-year player who started 14 of 23 career games. Lilja was named to the second-team All-Big Twelve squad in 2003.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs (first stint)

The Kansas City Chiefs signed Lilja as an

prior to the 2004 season. He was waived on September 5, 2004, with the intention of signing him to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

if he cleared waivers.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 6, 2004, Lilja was claimed off waivers by the

soon after the Chiefs waived him. The Colts re-signed Lilja on February 19, 2008, to a five-year deal worth $20 million. Lilja was released on March 8, 2010. He started 59 of 66 games for them and two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

On March 16, 2010, Lilja re-signed with the

Denver Broncos

After announcing his retirement on December 31, 2012, Lilja agreed to terms to join the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

on July 31, 2013. He was released on August 31, 2013.

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bioIndianapolis Colts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilja, Ryan 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Kansas City, Missouri American football offensive guards American football centers Coffeyville Red Ravens football players Kansas State Wildcats football players Kansas City Chiefs players Indianapolis Colts players Denver Broncos players