Tyreek Hill stole headlines after Week 18, stating pretty bluntly that he wanted out of the Miami Dolphins organization — and despite cooler heads seemingly prevailing for the moment, one NFL writer still believes the superstar wide receiver could end up back with the Kansas City Chiefs to close out his career.
On January 9, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox labeled KC one of the two most likely suitors for Hill in 2025, should he become available via trade. He also explained why the price could be much more “reasonable” than one might think.
“Trading Hill after June 1 would save Miami $16 million in cap space,” Knox noted. “He’s signed through 2026, but if he’s truly unhappy with the Dolphins, Miami should strongly consider cashing in now.”
Why, you ask?
“Miami can’t expect to get back what it invested in Hill—first- and second-round picks along with three Day 3 selections—but a second-round pick would probably be [a] reasonable [return],” the Bleacher Report analyst continued. “Hill will carry a base salary of only $10 million in 2025, though his salary will balloon to $30 million in 2026.”
As for where the Chiefs come into all this, Knox argued that Hill’s recent comments “suggest that he’d prefer to land with a contender.” And we also know that Kansas City is always at least open to reuniting with players that have already learned and fit their offensive and defensive systems.
“It’s not hard to connect the dots from Hill to the Kansas City Chiefs,” Knox agreed. “The Chiefs are projected to have $22.9 million in cap space next season and have a history of bringing back former players. While receiver Rashee Rice is expected to be healthy next season, the idea of partnering Hill with Rice and Xavier Worthy could be intriguing.”
Rice could also miss a portion of 2025 if he’s suspended.
Would Dolphins Ever Trade Tyreek Hill Back to Chiefs?
There is one major issue in Knox’s proposal, and that’s whether or not the Dolphins would ever consider this.
Obviously, they’ve lost the Hill trade to this point. Although the dynamic playmaker put together a couple of his best seasons in Miami production-wise, the Dolphins never made it past the first round of the playoffs — and the purpose of acquiring him was to compete for a Super Bowl.
On the flip side, Kansas City has won two straight Super Bowls without Hill, and they’re currently one of the favorites to win this year too as Miami watches this winter’s postseason from home.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach also utilized the draft capital from the Hill trade in order to rebuild their defense. And KC saved a good chunk of cap space in moving the superstar too.
From a Chiefs perspective, reacquiring Hill after all that sounds masterful, to say the least. But would Miami agree to such an embarrassing turn of events?
After all, selling off Hill to a random team is one thing, but trading him back to Kansas City at a fraction of the cost would be unforgiveable in the eyes of a fanbase.
Chiefs’ AFC Rival Named as Top Competition for Tyreek Hill via Trade
With the AFC West falling off in recent years — up until 2024 — the Cincinnati Bengals have become one of the Chiefs’ most hated rivals and if you listen to players from both teams speak about one another, you might even say Cincy has become KC’s No. 1 rival.
Why is this relevant? Well, Knox named the Bengals as Kansas City’s top competition for Hill during his January 9 article with Bleacher Report.
“Cincinnati could also be a viable landing spot if the Bengals don’t retain Tee Higgins,” the writer said. “The Bengals want to get back to contention in a hurry, and partnering Hill with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Chase Brown might give them the most explosive offense in the league.”
So, even if Hill doesn’t end up reuniting with the Chiefs, his potential trade availability could impact their 2025 outlook.
Kansas City has dominated the NFL over the past couple of seasons. When that happens, other franchises tend to do whatever it takes to close the gap. In this scenario, a trade for a talent like Hill could symbolize “whatever it takes.”
