The Kansas City Chiefs made the more-than-necessary change at offensive coordinator already this offseason, sending Matt Nagy on his way and ultimately electing to bring back a familiar face in the coaching role, Eric Bieniemy. His return to Kansas City is one that should excite fans in itself, given how fruitful the offense was in the earlier stages of Patrick Mahomes' career. But there's also a former Chiefs star who seems like he may be wanting to get back in on the reunions in KC: Tyreek Hill.
Following the Beiniemy news, Hill posted on social media in his now-expected cryptic manner, saying, "EB to the chiefs hm". Of course, with the current transition of power in the Miami Dolphins front office, and with Hill coming off a season-ending knee injury, the expectation is that he could either be traded or released this offseason. And given some of the Chiefs' inconsistency and uncertainty at receiver, the thought of orchestrating a reunion with Hill has to be under consideration.
Why the Chiefs should want a reunion with Tyreek Hill
Put simply, the Chiefs need more reliability and big-play ability from their wide receiver room. There are enticing talents in the picture, such as Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, but they're coming out of a season in which Travis Kelce was their leading receiver with 851 yards and five touchdowns (tied with Hollywood Brown and Rice in the scoring department). They need more proven weaponry around Mahomes.
Given Hill's off-field troubles throughout his football career, he would certainly be a risk for Kansas City, something they'd have to weigh if a reunion was on their mind. At the same time, if we're just talking about the player on the field — especially with Bieniemy returning to the fold — the Chiefs have to be enticed by what that could mean.
While injuries have hindered Hill's production over the past two seasons to the tune of averaging just 4.9 catches and 58.3 yards per game, he's still a big-play threat averaging 12 yards per reception and 8.1 yards per target. Furthermore, he already has the built-in rapport with Mahomes from their previous time together, and could simply be a high-end cog in the machine rather than the clear-cut No. 1 he once was for the Chiefs, and was in his first two years with the Dolphins.
The other thing to consider would be the cost. Miami would be eating the majority of Hill's contract in any deal, and there's only one year remaining on that pact. That means that the Chiefs wouldn't be heavily investing in a reunion with Hill, but would rather likely be paying what amounts to a steal for a receiver with his talent, while also not being on the hook long-term with their renewed partnership.
For a roster that needs to make changes this offseason, running it back with Hill might seem to run counterintuitively to that notion. But situationally, both in terms of the build of the offense and who Hill can be expected to be as a player, it might be the right type of swing for Kansas City.
What a potential Tyreek Hill trade would mean for the Dolphins
As for the Dolphins' side of the equation, the transition has begun. General manager Chris Grier was fired midseason, and head coach Mike McDaniel followed after the season. They've brought in Jeff Hafley from Green Bay to replace him, but the big question with the roster is now about moving on from some albatross contracts. That starts with what they can do with Tua Tagovailoa, who they seem ready to cut bait with in any way possible, but it also involves Hill.
Hill carried a $51.1 million cap hit for the 2026 season in Miami, but there are ways for the Dolphins to get out of that deal while not incurring that entire penalty. If he were cut or traded prior to June 1, the organization would save $22.88 million while taking on a $28.24 million dead cap hit. Meanwhile, if he were a post-June 1 designated trade or cut, the savings jump up to $35.23 million with the dead cap at just $15.89 million.
That post-June 1 move is most likely, but it does mean that the other 31 teams in the league also know that when it comes to Hill. Thus, they might be inclined to wait until he's cut instead of trading for him, unless some team wants to be sure to jump to the front of the line.
Subsequently, that's where the Chiefs and Dolphins make a ton of sense. Kansas City and Bieniemy's connections to the wide receiver ultimately make them more likely to kick the tires quickly, and thus the Dolphins could get something back in a trade, rather than just cutting him for solely cap savings.
Doing so would start to give Miami the fresh start that the franchise needs (along with whatever decision lies ahead with Tua), and allow a new front office and coaching regime to start what can amount to a clean rebuild sooner rather than later.
A potential Chiefs trade package to send the Dolphins for Tyreek Hill
At the end of the day, the primary motivating factor for the Dolphins is to get Hill off the books and save anywhere from $22-$35 million on the cap. They could save the same amount of money by just releasing him, however, which means that the Chiefs would have to first be aggressive to pursue a trade for the wide receiver as a means to beat other potential suitors to the punch, and thus not sending much valuable draft compensation to Miami in order to facilitate a trade.
The one thing that might deter Kansas City in such a deal, and may ultimately force them to wait to potentially sign Hill (should they want to) is their lack of late-round draft capital. The Chiefs traded their sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft to New England for Josh Uche (whoops) and only have one selection in each Day 3 round in 2027.
Nonetheless, what this does demonstrate is that the cost to the Chiefs of a potential trade could be far outweighed by what Hill could mean to the offense. Again, that's not a guarantee, but it would make it a lower-risk gamble with substantial upside for Mahomes and the Kansas City offense.