KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brett Veach thought he had come to peace last spring with the Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to trade one of the NFL’s premier wide receivers, Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs general manager had talked for days about a potential deal involving Hill with other team officials, including coach Andy Reid.
The decision to trade Hill wasn’t easy for Veach and the Chiefs. Hill was their leading wide receiver in each of his six pro seasons. He accounted for 25% of the targets from quarterback Patrick Mahomes last season, the 12th-highest team share in the league per NFL Next Gen Stats, and caught a Chiefs-record 111 passes. And his 4,854 receiving yards since 2018 are fourth-most in the NFL.
But the Chiefs reasoned through it. Hill was headed into the final season of his contract in 2022, and both sides were negotiating toward an extension when the market for wide receivers exploded, causing the Chiefs to rethink sinking big money on a 28-year-old receiver. They considered trading Hill for days, but the move ultimately came together quickly, with Hill choosing the Miami Dolphins over the other finalist, the New York Jets. The Chiefs had ultimately come to the conclusion that what they could get in return — five draft picks plus plenty of salary cap space that would allow for future moves — was too rich for them to pass up.
Then, after Veach told the Dolphins they had a deal, it came time to announce the trade — to make public this move that promised to transform the Kansas City franchise, for better or for worse. Numerous highlights from Hill’s now-concluded Chiefs career were everywhere on local TV news and national sports shows. The magnitude of the move set in.
“When you see it break publicly, it does hit you differently,” Veach said. “You see all the highlights and all the great plays that Tyreek made for us. … It’s one of those things where it’s like you know that unequivocally this is the right thing to do for the organization, just from where…
Source : espn
