Chiefs Rumors: Tyreek Hill trade fire, Travis Kelce mystery, Trey Smith optimism

The Kansas City Chiefs’ magical 2024 campaign ended with a sobering blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.

We knew this Chiefs team was flawed — Kansas City basically won 15 games by the skin of its teeth in the regular season — but it was hard to imagine the cosmically blessed Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid losing in the playoffs. Philly put that narrative of immortality to bed.

Now the Chiefs are back to the drawing board for the first time in a while, and GM Brett Veach has his work cut out for him. Kansas City’s cap situation is exceedingly complicated. Mahomes and Kansas City’s stars have taken pay cut after pay cut to keep this roster together, but flexibility is limited and now, some of those chickens have come home to roost. Perhaps not every expensive star is actually worth keeping.

It’s still impossible to discount the Chiefs as Super Bowl contenders, but there is more doubt and uncertainty than ever before. Veach has a difficult tightrope to walk through free agency and the NFL Draft.

Here is all the latest scuttlebutt from around the Chiefs organization.
Trey Smith hits free agency as one of the best offensive linemen on the market. At 25 years old and with a Pro Bowl under his belt, there should be no shortage of teams interested in the talented right guard. That said, expect the Chiefs to work hard to retain him.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic believes that Kansas City’s Super Bowl loss supplied the necessary motivation for Veach and the front office to pay Smith, even with cap space at a premium. The Chiefs cannot afford to let Mahomes’ pass protection get any worse.

“If you asked me a few days ago, I would have said that, given the Chiefs’ tricky cap situation, Kansas City will let him walk,” she writes. “But now I expect a strong push from the organization to keep Smith, knowing that protecting Patrick Mahomes is the No. 1 priority, if they’re going to get to Super Bowl LX.”

As fate would have it, the NFL’s salary cap is expected to rise somewhere between $22.1 million and $26.1 million compared to last season. That should give the Chiefs more financial ammo in their attempts to keep Smith in the building. Now, the Chiefs just need to elevate the O-line around Smith.

Tyreek Hill finished the season with an impassioned tirade at his locker after the Miami Dolphins missed the playoffs. He outright demanded a trade, citing his desire to win and his inability to further suffer Miami’s persistent mediocrity.

Later on, Hill walked those comments back, no doubt aware of the general improbability of Miami trading his massive contract in his age-31 season. The market for Hill is slim, even with his immense talent and lengthy track record of success. Not every team can afford his price tag, and the Chiefs certainly don’t appear — at least on paper — like a team ready to incur a $28.7 million cap hit.

That said, while Miami and Hill appear content to continue their partnership next season, NFL.com’s Adam Rank believes a trade might still benefit all parties. Hill clearly wants out (even if he can’t admit it publicly), while the Dolphins can get off of Hill’s contract at the tail end of his prime.

“A good amount of cold water has been dumped on that notion [of a Tyreek Hill trade], thanks in part to public comments by the five-time All-Pro and the team — but it has not been definitively doused,” Rank writes. “And I still kind of like the idea of moving him if the price is right. Yes, he’s turning 31 in March and just failed to top 12 yards per catch and six TD grabs in the same season for the first time since his rookie year. Still, he should have plenty of value as the final piece for a team that is on the brink of winning a Super Bowl.”

Where should Hill end up? Why, the Chiefs, of course. Rank points to Kansas City’s meek WR room, which features an ascendent Xavier Worthy and not much else. Hill is, perhaps, on the downswing of his career, but we know the chemistry he possesses with Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs need another explosive playmaker to really open up the offense, especially with Kelce’s future in limbo. Hill wants to win another Super Bowl. He probably can’t find a better place to do it than Kansas City.