Why Tyreek Hill Trade Looks Fantastic for Chiefs Entering 2025

How Tyquan Thornton, Trent McDuffie tie to 2022 trade.

Dec 16, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) catches a pass against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Tyreek Hill’s last game in a Chiefs uniform was Kansas City’s 27-24 overtime loss to the Bengals in the 2021 AFC championship. That seems like a century ago.

The Dolphins announced their 2025 captains on Monday and Hill wasn’t among them. After an awkward offseason that began with the wide receiver removing himself from Miami’s Week 18 game and then hinting he wanted to play somewhere else, even Hill didn’t expect his teammates to re-elect him a captain after three straight years with that distinction.

Jan 13, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed (38) and cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) break up a pass intended for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) during the second half of the 2024 AFC wild card game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

“It's something,” noted insider Dan Graziano on Tuesday’s edition of Get Up, “because it sort of reflects what's been going on with Tyreek Hill, Tua Togovailoa saying in a press conference that Tyreek needed to repair some relationships, Tyreek coming out and apologizing to the team.”

A Kingdom's ransom

Brett Veach is making no apologies for trading Hill, a deal that seems to age better than the finest of wines. Two months after the Chiefs lost in that AFC championship, Kansas City dealt Hill for a Kingdom’s ransom. The Dolphins gave up their first-, second- and fourth-rounders in 2022, as well as their fourth- and sixth-rounders in 2023.

And on the same day Miami acquired him, Hill signed a four-year, $120 million contract with the Dolphins – an extension the Chiefs were hesitant to give him.

Veach took those Dolphins picks and parlayed the Hill trade into what stands to date as his best draft as Chiefs general manager, 2022. Bill Belichick gave Veach the Patriots’ first-rounder in 2022 – No. 21 overall, cornerback Trent McDuffie – for the Chiefs’ selection, No. 29. New England used that choice to draft Cole Strange, a guard the Patriots actually cut last week.

Sep 17, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots guard Cole Strange (69) runs the ball during the second half against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

New England subsequently traded the Chiefs’ third-rounder in 2022 to Carolina, which used it to draft quarterback Matt Corral, whom the Panthers cut at the end of the 2023 preseason. And the fourth-rounder New England got from the Chiefs in 2022, Jack Jones, lasted only a year and a half with the Patriots before landing with the Raiders.

Even Tyquan Thornton was part of the trade

In fact, in circuitous fashion, the Chiefs even wound up with Tyquan Thornton after trading Hill to Miami. In a subsequent trade, the Chiefs sent that second-rounder obtained from the Dolphins to New England, and with the 50th overall selection in 2022, the Patriots drafted Thornton.

Released by the Patriots midway through his third season, Thornton signed a practice-squad contract with the Chiefs last November and enters this season poised for a breakout year with Rashee Rice beginning a six-game suspension.

The Chiefs open the season against the Chargers on Friday in São Paulo, Brazil (7 p.m. CT, YouTube, KSHB-TV 41, 96.5 The Fan). Hill and the Dolphins, meanwhile, kick off the season Sunday at Indianapolis.

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