When the Miami Dolphins announced they’d released star wide receiver Tyreek Hill on Monday, many across the NFL community had the same thought: Will he return to the Kansas City Chiefs?
FS1’s Willie Colon is strongly advising the Chiefs not to chase their past. On Monday’s “First Things First,” the former NFL offensive lineman laid out why Kansas City shouldn’t go after Hill despite its questions at wide receiver.
“We gotta be careful,” he said. “Nostalgia will get you in trouble. You’re talking about a 30-year-old quarterback coming off a major knee injury, and we’re looking at a team right now — valid, they’re deficient at the wide receiver position — but the Chiefs have some major cap issues.
The Chiefs are in a bit of a tricky spot with the salary cap entering the offseason. They’re roughly $55 million north of the salary cap, per Over The Cap, so signing any high-profile free agent might be impossible for Kansas City.
Hill is recovering from an ACL tear and a dislocated knee, though, which could theoretically lower his value on the open market. FOX Sports’ Greg Auman speculated that Hill could receive a salary of around $18 million next season, as he ranked Hill the 27th-best free agent this offseason. That’s about half of what Hill made with Miami in 2025.
Even if Hill takes that much of a pay cut this offseason, Colon thinks that it would still be a gamble for Kansas City to pursue him.
“They’re in the business of shopping for a low-value receiver instead of an impact guy, like Tyreek Hill, who you don’t know if you’re going to get the same guy back,” Colon said.
While Hill was one of the top wide receivers in the NFL for most of his four-year tenure with the Dolphins, he’s set to turn 32 in March and returning from a pretty massive injury. So, adding him would just add another question mark to a Chiefs wide receivers room that has plenty of them. No Kansas City wide receiver reached the 600-yard mark in receiving last season. Veterans Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster are set to become free agents, while 2024 first-round pick Xavier Worthy still really hasn’t broken out yet.
With the Chiefs having to navigate around a narrow line this offseason to improve their 6-11 roster, Colon thinks it would be best for Kansas City to go after safer targets.
“If you’re the Chiefs right now, you have to put all your attention toward getting Travis Kelce back in the building, because he was the ultimate security blanket for Patrick Mahomes,” Colon said. “You’ve got a damn good linebacker in Leo Chenal, who I think should remain a Chief, and you’ve got to keep him in the building.”
Both Kelce and Chenal are free agents this offseason, ranking 39th and 68th, respectively, on FOX Sports’ top 100 free agents list. Of course, Kelce is considering retirement, but the 36-year-old was still productive in 2025. He had 76 receptions for 851 yards and five touchdowns this past season.
