Tyreek Hill was a huge part of the Kansas City Chiefs' rise to Super Bowl powerhouse. Yes, the arrival of Andy Reid was the real start of the ascension, and Patrick Mahomes was obviously the central piece that put them over the top, but players like Hill, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones were absolutely key pieces that made the Chiefs the dominant team of the past decade. Hill was eventually traded when he wanted to be one of the league's highest-paid receivers, but now it appears the stars could be aligning for Hill to return to KC, only if he's willing to cut the Chiefs a deal.
Tyreek Hill is a future Hall of Fame player who is already in the top 40 for all-time NFL receiving yards among wide receivers. He's been one of the most electric players of the last 20 years. His explosive speed and big-play ability have allowed him to rack up as impressive a highlight reel as you can find.
Hill was absolutely justified in wanting to be one of the highest-paid skill position players in the NFL. The Chiefs wanted the picks and cap space and clearly took advantage of both because they responded by winning back-to-back Super Bowls after trading Hill away. Hill got his big payday and rewarded the Miami Dolphins for paying him with two consecutive 1,700-yard receiving seasons. He's not only the only receiver in history to have two 1,700-yard seasons, but he did it in back-to-back years.
Unfortunately, the Dolphins couldn't turn Hill's massive personal success into postseason success. The Dolphins got their money's worth out of Hill those first two seasons in Miami, but it wasn't enough to overcome their other flaws. Then, over the past two seasons, injuries to Tua Tagovailoa caused both of their numbers and Miami's win totals to drop drastically. Hill got his money and huge personal success, but he often seemed frustrated with not being able to repeat the team success he had in Kansas City.
Unless Tyreek Hill is willing to take a team-friendly deal, the cap-strapped Chiefs can’t afford to let nostalgia derail their rebuild.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have struggled to stock Patrick Mahomes with difference-making offensive weapons. Yes, they won two Super Bowls after Hill left, but as Travis Kelce has gotten older and KC has needed other pieces to take some of the weight off his shoulders, nobody has been up for the job. Yes, Rashee Rice has flashed real talent, but the Chiefs probably shouldn't count on him moving forward.
So the Chiefs miss having a difference-making wide receiver, and Tyreek Hill has missed competing for Super Bowls and playing with Patrick Mahomes. This may seem like a match made in heaven. It's the storybook ending that everyone wants. There's just one potential problem. If Hill still wants a big contract, the Chiefs should say, "Thanks, but no thanks."
The Chiefs tried to keep band-aiding their roster to see how long they could keep winning, and last season, the wheels finally fell off. The last thing they should do when they are cap-space starved and need to revitalize their roster is spend what little money they can free up paying a soon-to-be 32-year-old speed receiver who is coming off a major injury. It would make zero sense.
If you compare the current Chiefs roster and cap situation with where they were four years ago when they chose to trade Hill for cap space and picks over paying him, they are more in need of a rebuild now than they were then. So it would be foolish to pay Hill (who is four years older and coming off an injury) any kind of big-money deal.
If Hill wants another chance to play with Patrick Mahomes and win another Super Bowl before he retires, he needs to be willing to take a team-friendly deal. Period. If Hill is going to have the mindset that he's going to play for whoever will pay him the most, that can't be the Chiefs. They need to force him to choose what is more important: making the most money possible or winning. He got the money in Miami and wasn't happy, so maybe he'll choose to come back on a discount, but he has also shown enough stereotypical wide receiver ego that he may insist on getting paid.
Hill coming back to the Chiefs and helping them win another Super Bowl would be an amazing story. It seems like such a perfect fit. Hill has been frustrated by losing, and the Chiefs need wide receiver help, but it isn't that simple. The Chiefs have a roster to rebuild and have to plan to make sure they are well-stocked for the rest of Patrick Mahomes' prime. Paying an aging wide receiver doesn't fit in that plan.
If Hill wants to sign a short, team-friendly deal to help the Chiefs win immediately, that's great. Otherwise, he'll have to settle for making money but potentially being just as frustrated as he was in Miami. This match could be a dream come true, but the Chiefs should play hardball with Hill to make sure it doesn't turn into a nightmare for their rebuild.