Patrick Mahomes will need to find a new favorite target for the 2022 season, as his Kansas City Chiefs conducted a blockbuster trade on Wednesday that sent star receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a massive draft-pick package. In addition, the six-time Pro Bowler will soon be the NFL's high-paid wideout -- Miami has offered him a four-year, $120 million extension that includes $72.2 million guaranteed.
Kansas City will undoubtedly miss Hill, who possesses elite-level speed and elusiveness. The 28-year-old racked up a franchise-record 111 receptions for 1,239 yards with nine touchdowns last season, and according to ESPN Stats, he's recorded 26 scores on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield over the past five seasons. But, the franchise clearly wasn't comfortable offering Hill a second long-term extension. And so they shipped him out, rather suddenly.
"Just last week, everybody was under the impression that the Chiefs and Hill were moving forward. That was the overwhelming sentiment coming out of the Combine," Kansas City sports radio host Carrington Harrison explained to the JR SportBrief show on Wednesday. "This is the first day I've had to think about what they'll look like without Hill. I was under the impression they were going to keep him.
"We were even saying here, in Kansas City, you wanted to get it done before the Davante contract, because you knew that was going to have an effect on it. I didn't know it was going to have this kind of effect. I think it's pretty clear what happened. I think the Chiefs were maybe 85 to 90-percent done with a deal, Adams' contract came through, and it changed the landscape... I think Kansas City was unwilling to meet those financial requirements..."
With the departure of Hill, Kansas City now has a receiving corps that features veteran tight end Travis Kelce, free-agent acquisition Juju Smith-Schuster, and a speedy Mecole Hardman. The lack of a bona fide No. 1 option for Mahomes suggests that more moves are coming, either via free agency or the draft next month. Since 2018, Mahomes had connected with Hill for 41 touchdowns, the second-most by a quarterback-receiver duo in that time, per ESPN Stats.
The entire Chiefs conversation between Harrison and JR can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.