When Kansas City Chiefs wideout Tyreek Hill got traded to the Miami Dolphins, the move caught many people off guard. It also led many Chiefs fans to think there might have been a problem between Hill and other people in the organization.
According to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, though, the six-time Pro Bowl player didn’t leave the Chiefs because of a rift with him and the whole thing was as amicable as a trade can be.
The Miami Dolphins Offered a Better Contract
Reid said that he loved Tyreek Hill and that there were no problems between them. The Chiefs coach was very honest in his assessment of the situation and said that Hill was a family man with kids that he needed to provide for and support. So the trade to the Dolphins made a lot of sense, especially as the Chiefs weren’t willing to pay over the odds to extend his contract.
The coach also reflected on the unsuccessful contract talks between Hill and the Chiefs. He said they tabled contract offers, but it got to a point where they accepted that maybe they should “deal with the cap” and allow Hill to be traded.
Reid emphasized that they separated with the wide receiver on the best of terms. He said that there were two ways in which you can part ways with a player – one was to “play hardball” and the other was to do it as the Chiefs did.
Five Draft Picks for Hill
If Hill accepted the Chiefs’ offer, he would have become one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league. However, the 2020 Super Bowl champions gave up after contract extension talks stalled, and agreed to trade arguably the best wideout in the NFL to the Miami Dolphins, where he committed to a four-year, $120 million contract.
The Chiefs got five draft picks for Hill. The best of these is the No. 29 first-round pick for the 2022 NFL Draft. They also got second and third-round picks for this year’s draft, as well as fourth- and sixth-round picks for next year’s edition of the draft.
The Chiefs Have Two First-Rounders for the NFL Draft
Reid said that you had to manage the whole salary cap situation in the right way, as you wouldn’t be able to surround a quarterback with quality players if you were paying him lots of money. In other words, they had to get rid of a top player so that they could replenish, and think about both offense and defense.
After the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill, they were quite busy in the market. They brought in wide receivers Marques Valdes-Scantling and JuJu Smith-Schuster, as well as running back Ronald Jones and safety Justin Reid.
They also have five picks in the first 100 for the upcoming NFL Draft. That means general manager Brett Veach will be able to strengthen the Chiefs with some top talent, including two first-rounders.
How the trade will affect the team?
When asked how the Hill trade will affect their star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Reid said that they tried to surround him with top-quality players and that they tried to retain Hill, but they weren’t willing to pay anything like the money the Dolphins offered. Once it got past that point, they decided to trade him.
As for the goal for coach Reid and general manager Veach, it remains the same – to get a good end result. What would that end result be? According to Reid, it is to come to a place where they would feel comfortable that they could win on Sundays.
