5 NFL Teams That Must Chase Tyreek Hill in the Trade Frenzy – And 5 That Need to Stay Far Away
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
The Miami Dolphins officially released Tyreek Hill… And just like that, one of the most electric players of his generation hit the open market for the first time in his career.
Now here’s where it gets complicated.
Hill isn’t the same player he was two years ago when he led the league with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s 32 years old. He’s coming off a dislocated knee and torn ACL that ended his 2025 season in Week 4.
Not to mention all the off-the-field and locker-room concerns that come with Hills…
But this is still an all-time speedster we’re talking about.
Eight Pro Bowls. Five First-Team All-Pro selections. A Super Bowl ring. Over 11,000 career receiving yards. The guy they call Cheetah for a reason.
So which teams should roll the dice on a player who could either be a league-altering addition or an expensive, drama-filled mistake?
Let’s break down five teams that need to get in on the Tyreek Hill sweepstakes—and five that absolutely have to stay away.
Which teams should or should not try to sign Tyreek Hill?
GET IN: Buffalo Bills
Let’s start with a team that’s been knocking on the door for years.
Josh Allen is one of the most talented quarterbacks in football. He’s got the arm. He’s got the athleticism. And he’s got the competitive fire. What he doesn’t have—and frankly, has never had—is a true number one receiver.
Khalil Shakir led Buffalo in receiving yards last season with just 719. That’s not a typo. The Bills used a league-high eight different receivers with 100-plus snaps because they couldn’t figure out who Allen’s go-to guy was supposed to be.
That’s a problem.
Now imagine Tyreek Hill running a go route with Josh Allen’s rocket launcher delivering the ball. That’s a coverage nightmare that defensive coordinators would lose sleep over.
Hill even showed some love to Buffalo after their heartbreaking playoff loss to Denver, tweeting, “I’m sick for ya bills.” Maybe that was just sympathy. Maybe it was something more.
The Bills are about $12 million over the cap right now, but restructuring Allen and Dion Dawkins could free up nearly $24 million. They can make this work if they want to.
And after years of falling short, maybe Hill is the missing piece that finally gets Allen and Bills Mafia their long-awaited championship.
STAY AWAY: San Francisco 49ers
On paper, Kyle Shanahan and Tyreek Hill sound like a match made in heaven… At least from an X’s and O’s perspective.
Shanahan’s scheme is all about creating explosive plays through motion, misdirection, and getting playmakers in space. That could unlock a whole new side of Hill’s game.
But here’s the problem—San Francisco is an organization built around culture… and a shared identity. Grinders like Brock Purdy, George Kittle… even their stars like Christian McCaffrey have that ethos.
And while you might think they’d be interested in the impending departure of Brandon Aiyuk, they would be very hesitant to even talk about adding a 32-year-old receiver with Hill’s baggage coming off a catastrophic knee injury.
Personality aside… let’s not forget that injury is a real issue… and the 49ers have enough of those on their own!
The 49ers have a championship window that’s closing fast.
They can’t afford to invest significant resources in a player who might not be available until Week 8—or might never be the same player again.
When your window is this narrow, you don’t gamble on question marks. You go with sure things.
San Francisco should let someone else take that risk.
GET IN: Las Vegas Raiders
Alright… look—I know this one sounds like a disaster waiting to happen… Tyreek Hill in Sin City—plus the Raiders’ history with high-profile free agents—and the obsession with star receivers… I get it…
But the Raiders have over $90 million in cap space and the first overall pick in the draft, which is almost certainly going to be Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. They have a new head coach in Klint Kubiak, who just won Super Bowl LX running a Shanahan-style offense in Seattle.
And they already have foundational pieces in Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers.
Now add Tyreek Hill to that mix.
Even if Hill isn’t quite what he used to be, even if he’s only 80% of his former self, that’s still one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in football. Pair him with a young quarterback who has a cannon for an arm, a running back who just rushed for 2,000 yards in college, and a tight end who’s already one of the best in the league?
That’s a problem for the rest of the AFC West—and would be huge for Mendoza’s development.
The Raiders can absorb the risk. If Hill doesn’t work out, they have the cap space to pivot. If he does? They just accelerated their rebuild by two years.
Las Vegas has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
STAY AWAY: Dallas Cowboys
Jerry Jones loves making headlines. And signing Tyreek Hill would certainly do that.
But Dallas just traded for George Pickens this past season… another ultra-talented receiver who couldn’t stop getting into it with teammates, coaches, and opponents.
Now imagine pairing Pickens with Hill.
Two diva receivers with massive personalities competing for targets on a team that’s $29 million over the salary cap. In a building where Jerry Jones inserts himself into every major decision. With a new coaching staff trying to establish a culture.
What could possibly go wrong?
Everything. Everything could go wrong.
The Cowboys need to focus on getting their cap situation under control and building around Pickens as their number one option. They already made their splash move at receiver. Adding Hill would only complicate things and take targets away from the guy they just invested in.
Dallas has enough drama without inviting more through the front door.
GET IN: Kansas City Chiefs
This is the obvious one. The homecoming everyone’s been waiting for.
Hill spent six seasons in Kansas City. He made six Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl, and formed one of the most devastating quarterback-receiver connections the league has ever seen with Patrick Mahomes.
And since trading Hill in 2022? The Chiefs haven’t been the same offensively.
Kansas City won two more Super Bowls after Hill left, sure. But their offense became increasingly reliant on Travis Kelce, and now Kelce is entering his age-36 season. The explosive plays dried up. The serious threat disappeared.
Chris Jones has already started the recruiting process, posting “It’s time” on social media after Hill was released.
There’s just one problem.
“I don’t know if Tyreek is healthy right now to do anything,” Andy Reid said just today. “I’m sure he’s working hard on that part of it to get that straightened out.”
And when asked if the Chiefs were talking to Hill, Reid was blunt: “There’s nothing happening there.”
That doesn’t mean nothing will happen. Kansas City is $55 million over the cap, but they’ve already restructured Mahomes’ contract to create flexibility. Releasing Jawaan Taylor would save another $20 million.
The Chiefs can make this work if they want to.
Here’s the poetic part—both Hill and Mahomes are returning from torn ACLs suffered in 2025. Their rehab timelines could sync up perfectly. They could return together, older and wiser, for one last run at a championship.
If that doesn’t write itself, I don’t know what does.
STAY AWAY: New York Jets
As much as Woody Johnson wants to bring in a big name, someone needs to remind the crazy man running the Jets that they are in full rebuild mode.
Remember the whole fire sale at the trade deadline? How about when you finished 3-14? There is a reason you have the second overall pick in the draft—don’t lose yourself and think one flashy signing is going to fix it.
Why on earth would they sign a 32-year-old receiver coming off a devastating knee injury? Only Woody Johnson can answer that question.
New York has plenty of cap space, but that money should be going toward young building blocks who can grow with whoever the Jets draft at quarterback, not toward a fading veteran who might not even be ready for Week 1.
The Jets have made this mistake before. They’ve chased big names and short-term solutions instead of building sustainably. It never works.
This franchise needs to commit to the rebuild. Draft well. Develop young players. Build a culture.
Tyreek Hill doesn’t fit any part of that plan.
Some teams are in a position to take swings on high-risk, high-reward players. The Jets are not one of those teams. Not right now.
Stay away. Build for the future.
GET IN: Los Angeles Chargers
If Tyreek Hill doesn’t go back to Kansas City, this is where he should land.
Mike McDaniel is now the Chargers’ offensive coordinator after being fired by the Dolphins. You know what that means? The guy who designed the offense that made Hill the most productive receiver in football is now in Los Angeles with Justin Herbert.
People forget because the situation got ugly over the last season or so… But Hill had back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons in McDaniel’s system.
The guy led the league in yards per route run both years and was targeted on an absurd 38% of his routes—miles ahead of anyone else in football.
McDaniel knows exactly how to use Hill. There’s no learning curve. No adjustment period. Hill walks in on day one and knows every route, every concept, every wrinkle.
He just needs to remember all that McDaniel did for him.
And Justin Herbert? He has one of the strongest arms in the NFL. He’s been waiting his entire career for a true number one receiver. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were good, but neither was at Tyreek Hill’s level.
Plus, the Chargers can afford to be patient with Hill’s recovery—and have the leverage to structure a deal that protects them if things go wrong.
The schematic fit is perfect. The financial fit is perfect. The quarterback fit is perfect.
Los Angeles should be doing everything in their power to make this happen.
STAY AWAY: New England Patriots
This might be controversial, but hear me out.
The Patriots just went to the Super Bowl. They lost to Seattle, but they got there with a young quarterback in Drake Maye and a culture-first approach under Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel is building something special in New England. He’s establishing an identity. He’s creating an environment where players buy in, work hard, and put the team first.
Tyreek Hill does not fit that environment.
Yes, Hill is talented. Yes, Drake Maye could use more weapons. And yes, New England has $55 million in cap space.
But some things are more important than talent.
There is plenty of reason to believe that adding Hill to the locker room would do more harm than good.
The Patriots are building something sustainable. They’re developing young players. They’re creating a winning culture that can last for years.
Tyreek Hill might give them a short-term boost… but that is still a maybe—and there is a legitimate chance he could also blow up everything Vrabel is trying to create… Stefon Diggs is chaos enough!
New England should look elsewhere. There are other ways to get Drake Maye’s weapons. Ways that don’t come with this much baggage.
Some risks aren’t worth taking—no matter how talented the player.
GET IN: Chicago Bears
Here’s a connection that doesn’t get talked about enough.
Bears GM Ryan Poles was the Chiefs’ director of college scouting when Kansas City drafted Tyreek Hill in the fifth round back in 2016. That pick helped define Poles’ entire career in football operations.
Now, Poles is running his own team. And he’s got a rising star at quarterback in Caleb Williams, who just showed the entire league what he’s capable of.
Williams made roughly five of the greatest throws in NFL history during Chicago’s postseason run last year. The kid has ice in his veins, a cannon for an arm, and the kind of improvisational ability that reminds people of a young Patrick Mahomes.
You know who made Patrick Mahomes look like Patrick Mahomes in his early years? Tyreek Hill.
Chicago already has promising young weapons in Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III. Adding Hill—even a slightly diminished version—gives Williams a true deep threat who can blow the top off defenses and open up everything underneath.
Ben Johnson’s offense in Year 2 with a healthy Hill running routes? That’s a top-five offense waiting to happen.
STAY AWAY: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are desperate for receiver help. We all know this.
They traded for DK Metcalf last year. Then they traded away George Pickens after getting tired of his antics. Now Metcalf is their only legitimate threat, and no other wideout on the roster cracked 375 receiving yards in 2025.
So when Tyreek Hill hit the market, Pittsburgh fans immediately started dreaming. Some oddsmakers even have the Steelers with the second-best odds to sign him.
Here’s why that would be a massive mistake.
The Steelers just got rid of George Pickens because he was a distraction. He showed up late to games. He got into it with coaches. And he wore messages on his eye black. Pittsburgh had had enough and shipped him to Dallas for a third-round pick.
Plus, they have a new head coach in Mike McCarthy and a big question at quarterback with retirement still looming large in Aaron Rodgers’ mind.
With the need at receiver, Hill is enticing, but the juice doesn’t seem worth the squeeze given the context.
