While it’s uncertain if Hill will be available for the season opener, the Chiefs are expected to monitor the progress of his recovery and training, according to league sources.
“We go through everything and everybody [in free agency],” Reid said Friday. “That’s how [general manager] Brett [Veach] does [it]. I’m sure [Hill’s] working hard on that [rehab] part of it and trying to get all that straightened out. We talk about everything, so there’s nothing happening there, but we know he’s out there and cranking away trying to get himself back to where he can play.”
The Chiefs, as they’ve done in the past, could offer Hill a one-year contract with incentives to add a boost to their offense — a unit that will feature quarterback Patrick Mahomes after he recovers from the most significant injury of his career, the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. In 2022, after the Chiefs traded Hill to the Dolphins for five draft picks, the team signed veteran receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal for a maximum of $10.75 million. The Chiefs and Hill could negotiate a similar contract, which would allow Hill to be a free agent again next year with the hope of him being healthier and his knee further strengthened.
If both parties can agree to a deal, whether later in the offseason or early in the season, Hill would be reunited with Mahomes, coach Andy Reid and potentially tight end Travis Kelce, who is strongly considering re-signing with the team for the 14th season in his career, according to multiple members of the Chiefs’ organization.