Tyreek Hill Says Lack of Targets Contributed to Exit From Chiefs
Having already surpassed last season's yardage total and not being too far behind in targets and receptions, Tyreek Hill has experienced a fantastic first year with the Miami Dolphins after being traded from the Kansas City Chiefs in March. Meanwhile, despite being projected to struggle a bit in his absence, Kansas City and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have arguably the best offense in the NFL through 13 games. It appears to be a rare win-win scenario for such a high-profile swap, as both teams are likely headed to the postseason and could even square off against each other in January.
The Chiefs and Dolphins moved on from the trade long ago, but Hill is still open to sharing his side of the story months later. On a recent episode of Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast, the 28-year-old wideout discussed his exit from Kansas City and blamed his amount of targets as one of the reasons why he ultimately opted to go the trade route. When Sharpe asked Hill to pinpoint when he started to feel like he may not end his career as a Chief, he said those thoughts were already creeping up during the 2021 campaign.
“It got like that probably, like, mid-last season," Hill said. "I’m the type of guy... I love playing ball and I love being by the team because football is a team sport, right? And there would be some games where I’d get two targets or I’d get three targets. We’d go into meetings and my coach would be like ‘Hey, ‘Reek, we’ve got to get you involved.’ So I’m calling my agent every week after they say some crazy stuff like that, like, ‘Bro, I’ve got to get out of here.’”
Hill was targeted five or more times in all but four games last season, and he played less than 50% of available snaps in two of those low-target outings. In addition to hauling in 111 passes from Mahomes, he set the Chiefs' single-season franchise record for targets with 159. In fact, he trailed only six receivers in all of football in targets and finished seventh in yards as well. He was involved about as much as a player sharing the field with future first-ballot Hall of Famer Travis Kelce can be.
Once contract extension talks between Kansas City and Hill's camp reached an impasse of sorts early in the offseason, general manager Brett Veach decided to get some cap relief and draft picks from Miami in exchange for the elite receiver. Hill says he discussed the contract situation with Reid and Mahomes, adding that he did indeed want to remain with the team at the end of the day.
“So I talked to Andy and I talked to Patrick Mahomes," Hill said. "I talked to coach Andy Reid and I’m like, ‘Coach, I don’t even need to be the highest-paid receiver. I just want to be taken care of and I want to stay with Travis Kelce, I want to stay with Pat, I want to stay with my brothers.'
Until the Dolphins jumped in.
“Miami had called, and they were like, 'Look, we’re just going to go all-out,'" Hill said. "'We’re going to give you $72M guaranteed.’ And then I was like, ‘I can’t turn that down.’ With no state income tax, I’m basically living in my house for free right now."
Hill explained the financials in greater detail, adding that — at the time — he simply wanted the Chiefs to match the $25 million average annual salary that A.J. Brown received when he got traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles. Considering the fact that Brown was traded more than a month after Hill, though, that part of the story raises some questions. Hill said that the Chiefs did match that $25M figure, although the guaranteed money they offered wasn't near what he desired. That led to the trade, but Hill admits that there are no hard feelings on his end.
“No hard feelings, no hard feelings," Hill said. "I feel like I can’t mix my hard feelings in with the business side of all of that. I’ve still got love for all of those boys — Patrick, Kelce, Veach, coach Reid, EB (offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy), I still love them. Just know that if we do play them, if we do see them, it’s showtime."
At another point earlier in the podcast, Hill again tipped his cap to the duo of Reid and Bieniemy for helping shape him into the player he is today. His level of dominance has taken the NFL world by storm over the past several seasons, and the Dolphins are now a much more dangerous squad because of it. Miami and Kansas City didn't have each other on their respective schedules this season but if there's a playoff bout between the two early next calendar year, Hill says the Chiefs better be ready.
“They better have two people on me, that’s all I know," Hill said. "The Cheetah will be arriving in Kansas City or in Miami. I don’t care where I’ll be at.”
