The Miami Dolphins officially released Tyreek Hill on Monday, a move that saves them over $22 million as the rebuild begins under Jeff Hafley. Hill is rehabbing from a torn ACL and dislocated knee, which complicates his free agency outlook. Even so, a wide receiver with his track record and overall talent should field plenty of calls.
Hill comes with his share of clubhouse concerns, but now that he is leaving a messy situation in Miami, we could see the veteran pass-catcher rejuvenated. He's a Super Bowl champ and only two seasons removed from leading the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
Are the Chiefs in the mix for Tyreek Hill?
Should answer: almost certainly yes.
Kansas City is operating with roughly -$55 million in cap space right now, but the right blend of cuts and contract restructuring can solve that issue. Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Travis Kelce are all free agents. The latter might flat-out retire. Given the already-fragile nature of this Chiefs pass-catching corps, the prospect of losing even more talent without a viable contigency plan is unthinkable.
Hill has openly flirted with a Chiefs reunion in the past. It's not even a secret, really. Hill won the Super Bowl with Kansas City back in 2020, with a game-high 105 receiving yards against San Francisco. His partnership Patrick Mahomes was a prime example of mutual benefit. His partnership with Tua Tagovailoa in Miami? Not so much.
The Chiefs need receivers and Hill would probably accept a hometown discount to play in Kansas City again. That said, there are also reasons for the Chiefs to stay away, and another team can still swoop in to lure Hill elsewhere.
If he ends up in a different city, these destinations in particular should give Chiefs fans a nice scare.
Las Vegas Raiders
Are the Raiders going to be "scary" next season? Not necessarily. But let's not pretend like the six-win Chiefs hold a huge margin of advantage right now, especially with Patrick Mahomes recovering from an Achilles tear. Las Vegas made a great head coaching hire in Klint Kubiak. Now comes Fernando Mendoza, the consensus No. 1 overall pick, who looks every bit like a franchise quarterback.
It's hard for rookies to compete as, well, rookies. Especially when the roster around them is still in the nascent stages of development. That said, he will have Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers, two real weapons on his timeline. Kubiak just guided longtime "fraud watch" Sam Darnold to the Super Bowl. Mendoza is as smart and fundamentally sound as any quarterback to hit the big leagues in quite some time.
Why not add Tyreek Hill to the mix on a cheap deal and see what happens? Hill is recovering from a severe injury. He's 32 years old and 5-foot-10. So we should temper expectations. But Hill is also one of the most dynamic athletes of his generation. If anyone in his circumstance can find gas in the tank, it's Hill. With Bowers dominating the red zone and Jeanty vacuuming up early-down, short-yardage touches, Vegas would just need Hill to execute on his routes and hopefully break free for the occasional vintage highlight.
Indianapolis Colts
Let's assume Indianapolis re-signs Daniel Jones and stays in a holding pattern until his return from injury. That feels like the right path forward. For as ugly as their second-half collapse was in 2025, Indianapolis was damn near the best team in the AFC for the other half of the year. Jones was on a Pro Bowl track. Heck, there was a point where he felt like a sneaky MVP candidate. That may or may not be sustainable — his reputation is what it is — but clearly, Shane Steichen unlocked something in the former first-round pick.
The Colts are well-equipped offensively, but Alec Pierce's uncertain future could open up WR2 reps opposite Michael Pittman. Indianapolis is going to spam the run game with Jonathan Taylor. Jones, at his peak last season, was effortlessly efficient — a rapid-fire, precision orchestrator of short throws and deep balls alike. If Hill can still break free in the secondary on occasion and open up those explosive plays, Indianapolis' offense could really pop off next season. If Hill is more of an underneath route-runner and quick-hit target these days, he should still benefit from Steichen's play calls and this new version of Danny Dimes.
Indianapolis has a lot to figure out this summer, and no, the culture fit with Hill is never ideal. But there's a world in which this is the best outcome for all parties involved. The Colts can find a cheaper, short-term alternative to Pierce; Jones gets his speed demon, long-range target; Hill gets to join a sneaky contender out of the national spotlight.
San Francisco 49ers
The Niners received a proper beatdown in the NFC Divisional Round at the hands of the eventual champs from Seattle. That said, San Francisco dealt with an impossible volume of injuries and still managed to look the part of a contender all season. While there's infinite praise for the Sean McVays and Ben Johnsons of the world, Kyle Shanahan is the original. His scheme was a huge touchstone for Mike McDaniel, under whom Hill blossomed once upon a time in Miami.
Brock Purdy is not the most exciting quarterback, but he has been to a Super Bowl and there's a reason the Niners just keep chugging along as a perennial winner. Purdy gets creative with his deliveries and is a much sharper processor than many of his peers. At 26, Purdy theoretically has a long runway for success in San Francisco. Hill would still be getting in fairly close to the ground level.
Shanahan has received no favors from the front office when it comes to building out the wide receiver room, but George Kittle is a tier-one tight end. Christian McCaffrey is technically a running back, but he put up 924 yards and seven touchdowns as a receiver last season. He is practically RB1 and WR1, for all intents and purposes. The Brandon Aiyuk experience has reached its logical endpoint, but Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are not untalented. Hill can find his niche in this twilight stage of his career and introduce a needed speed and dynamism to the 49ers' offense, hopefully.
Chicago Bears
Caleb Williams' progression from borderline bad as a rookie to 'this guy is figuring it out' to 'this is Patrick Mahomes Jr.' happened in a flash. The Ben Johnson partnership worked better than even the most optimistic Bears fan could've hoped for coming into the year. Chicago still performed vastly above its means — the historic volume of comeback victories simply is not sustainable — but the Bears' foundation for a bright future has been successfully laid.
Williams made roughly five of the greatest throws in NFL history during Chicago's thrilling two-round postseason run. The Rams were able to outlast the Bears in OT, in the snow, but Williams consistently put Chicago on his back with unbelieveable poise and creativity under pressure. He's a big game, big moment quarterback. Now, the Bears just need to take that next step.
D.J. Moore's name has come up frequently in trade rumors ever since the season ended. He took a backseat to Rome Odunze last season and his inconsistent effort became a sticking point for disgruntled fans. Should Chicago find a trade, why not line up Hill as his replacement? He probably only has a year or two of quality football left, if that, but Hill's speed is a real asset still. Plus, he knows what it's like to work with such an improvisational quarterback. Williams is not Mahomes, but their shared tendencies could mean Hill is a hand-in-glove fit with Ben Johnson calling plays.
Denver Broncos
Kansas City does not want to see Hill in the division no matter what, but it really does not want to see him on the Broncos. Denver finished last season top-10 in both offense and defense. The defense was especially fearsome, with a knack for shutting the water off with a ballhawking secondary. The offense is good, sometimes very good, but it could use a shot in the arm. Hill still qualifies, especially if he's signing for cheap.
Sean Payton remains his generation's preeminent QB whisperer. Bo Nix is a flawed quarterback, but he plays a smart, generally mistake-free brand of football. He's also extremely mobile, able to extend broken plays and create with a bit more pizzazz than expected coming out of Oregon.
Beyond Courtland Sutton, this Broncos offense lacks established weapons. Troy Franklin was a functional WR2 last season, but Denver could use a speedster with Hill's résumé to spice things up. An offense built around Nix is balanced by default; Hill won't be asked to shoulder too heavy a load. He just needs to execute on his routes and work a little magic after the catch. When Nix can get the ball out quickly and establish a rhythm, this Broncos offense hums.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills once again fell short in the postseason, but it feels like it has to happen at some point. Right? Josh Allen has cemented his status as the best player in the NFL — the most powerful one-man engine in all of football. He just needs to reach the postseason with a clean bill of health and a strong enough supporting cast to scrape by. There is not a defense in the league built to truly slow Allen down when he's operating at full capacity.
Ever since Stefon Diggs left, Buffalo has done an embarrassing job of surrounding Allen with the necessary talent at wide receiver. Keon Coleman is out of his depth. Khalil Shakir is fun, but he's not a serious WR1. Brandin Cooks is past his prime. Joshua Palmer can dial up a few big plays here and there, but he has never risen above a decent tertiary option.
Who knows, honestly, what Hill can provide at this point? But no team should be more desperate to kick the tires and see what happens than Buffalo, with the possible exception of Kansas City. Allen tends to squeeze the absolute most out of his teammates. He can hit Hill on throws no other NFL quarterback can make. When Hill does gain the advantage sprinting up the sideline — when he does break free on a crossing route over the middle — Allen can fire a bullet into the smallest of windows, with the softest of touch.
After years of catching passes from Tua Tagovailoa, who so often predetermines his passes, catching passes from a freewheeling dime-dropper of the Josh Allen variety ought to reinvigorate Hill as he chases a second Super Bowl ring.