Tyreek Hill's homecoming is a heartwarming yet far-fetched idea for the Chiefs

If you follow the plotline, the threads actually run as far back as last winter for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The NFL rumor mill is churning fast these days with the number of high-profile names who are seemingly available for a trade and most of them are being connected to the Chiefs. It's a response to the Chiefs 4-0 record with Super Bowl hopes ahead of them while hampered by a limping offense operating without several key players.

The latest injury was the one that opened the floodgates for hot takes and trade blocks. Rashee Rice went down with a serious leg injury on Sunday against the L.A. Chargers at SoFi Stadium, making him the third player atop the depth chart at a skill position to be lost for multiple games—this is after losing RB1 Isiah Pacheco and the team's original WR1 Marquise Brown.

In the wake of Rice's injury, the Chiefs have been linked to anyone with a pulse at the position. Rams wideout Cooper Kupp has been mentioned, as has Amari Cooper of the Browns. Raiders superstar Davante Adams and Bears veteran Keenan Allen are in the mix as well. We even had our own list of 10 names that made sense on several tiers for general manager Brett Veach to consider.

Suffice it to say, you could make a couple of All-Pro teams out of the WRs who are reportedly available for the right price before this season's trade deadline. And that includes the best in the game: Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins.

The legitimacy of a Tyreek Hill trade

At first, the idea of adding Hill sounds ridiculous. The Chiefs just traded him away before the 2022 season for five draft picks—many of which laid the foundation for the current all-world defense working under Steve Spagnuolo's leadership. Hill then signed a top-of-the-market deal that paid him the money Veach could not. The whole thing just sounded like something you'd do in Madden '25. It didn't feel based in reality.

But enough personalities started to champion the thought. The folks at First Things First, including Nick Wright, discussed the idea. Then came Stephen A. Smith and Trey Wingo. Yes, it's a major move but the Chiefs made such a major move in the first place. And, as it turns out, the cap hit isn't so bad.

The Chiefs are getting the band back together

Back to the plotline mentioned at the top. The Chiefs have been in homecoming mode for a very long time—all the way back to the start of roster construction for this third consecutive Super Bowl run. The Chiefs have made certain that if they achieve that historic three-peat, they will do so surrounded by as many friendly faces as possible.

This past offseason, it wasn't just some big-ticket items that were re-signed. It felt like a running theme. Chris Jones was followed by Mike Pennel and Derrick Nnadi and Turk Wharton. Drue Tranquill was given a few more seasons of work in the second level. Meanwhile, Mike Danna, who looked like an obvious departure, was brought back on a multi-year deal, too.

On offense, the Chiefs brought back Mecole Hardman at wideout despite a redundancy with the skill set. At a position like running back, the Chiefs could have easily moved on from an uncertain talent like Clyde Edwards-Helaire but they've done right by him even after his rookie deal was up.

The trend has continued even over the last couple of weeks. Tight end Jody Fortson left for the Miami Dolphins but was let go. Then after it'd appeared that the Chiefs had moved on, they recently brought him back to the practice squad. And of course, the biggest reunion of all belonged to running back Kareem Hunt, who turned in an exemplary effort on Sunday in his first game back with the Chiefs after five seasons away.

In a year where real lasting history could be made on a league-wide scale, it sounds like a great story to add Tyreek Hill back into a mix where Patrick Mahomes is already surrounded by Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt, Mecole Hardman, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and others from those earlier Super Bowl rosters.

Hesitations in south Florida

The sentiments, however, can only carry the notion so far. The Dolphins have a lot of needs, yes, but it's hard to imagine they're ready to tear everything down to the studs after just four weeks. They've lost a quarterback who says he wants to come back, and Tua Tagovailoa is reportedly feeling better and symptom-free after his most recent concussion. That alone should put the rumor back in the bottle.

Beyond that, the Dolphins would take away the one thing they do well if they trade Hill. The dual threat of Jaylen Waddle and Hill is the league's best wide receiving corps, and it's hard to imagine the Dolphins are going to get the sort of franchise-shaping return they'd deserve at midseason for the NFL's most dynamic offensive player.

There's also a considerable cost to the Dolphins if they were to trade Hill at this point. It would make far more sense to wait until the offseason when the dead cap space goes down considerably.

And then there's the cost on K.C.'s side. They looked at Hill's price tag two years ago and declined to pay it. Are they ready to pick up such a tab now for the immediate future?

And what would it cost the Chiefs in future draft assets? Brett Veach has a good thing going in terms of maintaining a steady flow of young cost-controlled talent to balance out the roster construction. To trade away a few picks is to interrupt the formula that's gotten the Chiefs to be so competitive each season.

The truth is that as good as it sounds and as warm as it feels, the notion that Tyreek Hill could rejoin the Chiefs is a real longshot. The Dolphins would have to bail early on a season and sell off assets below market value in order to get the Chiefs on board. The Chiefs might find a way to fill the WR need but it's very unlikely to be Hill who takes that role.