The NFL offseason is barely underway, but the stove is already piping hot. Just days after the\u00a0Miami Dolphins made the shocking decision\u00a0to release superstar wideout\u00a0Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle\u00a0Chris Jones\u00a0is already working the phones, or at least the timeline.<\/p>\n
Jones wasted no time jumping on X, formerly Twitter, to recruit his former teammate back to Arrowhead. Tagging Hill, Jones posted a\u00a0simple but loud\u00a0message: \u201c@cheetah it\u2019s (time).\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cCheetah\u201d spent his first six seasons with the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs, becoming the most electric deep threat in football before being traded to Miami in 2022. While the move was strictly business at the time, the landscape in KC has changed. The Chiefs\u2019 offense lacked that signature vertical explosion for much of the year.<\/p>\n
Rams go all-in with their extra first-rounder<\/p>\n
Rams get:\u00a0CB\u00a0Trent McDuffie, 2026 fifth-round pick
Chiefs get:\u00a02026 first-round pick<\/p>\n
McDuffie fits that bill as a feisty, aggressive cornerback with the ability to play near the line of scrimmage. The Rams have spent at one of the league\u2019s lowest rates over the past two years on defense, and they would have no trouble absorbing a potential extension for McDuffie, let alone his $13.6 million fifth-year option in 2026. McDuffie might be best in the slot, where the Rams use\u00a0Quentin Lake, but he\u2019s plenty effective as an outside cornerback, too.<\/p>\n
Why would the Chiefs, who also expect to compete for a Super Bowl, trade McDuffie? Well, Brett Veach hasn\u2019t been too interested in paying cornerbacks during his time as general manager. The Chiefs traded Peters after three seasons, one year removed from a first-team All-Pro nod. They developed\u00a0L\u2019Jarius Sneed\u00a0into a standout, but at the end of his rookie deal, they franchise-tagged him and\u00a0traded\u00a0him to the Titans for a third-round pick.<\/p>\n
McDuffie is better than Peters or Sneed, but if the Chiefs aren\u2019t planning on extending their top corner, getting something significant for him now makes more sense than losing him in free agency for nothing more than a 2028 compensatory pick. In acquiring the No. 29 selection, the Chiefs would have three of the top-40 picks in this year\u2019s draft, which would give them the ability to add multiple rookie contributors and\/or move around for specific players.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe gotta be careful,\u201d he said. \u201cNostalgia will get you in trouble. You\u2019re talking about a 30-year-old quarterback coming off a major knee injury, and we\u2019re looking at a team right now \u2014 valid, they\u2019re deficient at the wide receiver position \u2014 but the Chiefs have some major cap issues.<\/p>\n
The Chiefs are in a bit of a tricky spot with the salary cap entering the offseason. They\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n
Hill is recovering from an ACL tear and a dislocated knee, though, which could theoretically lower his value on the open market. FOX Sports\u2019\u00a0Greg Auman\u00a0speculated that Hill could receive a salary of around $18 million next season, as\u00a0he ranked Hill the 27th-best free agent\u00a0this offseason. That\u2019s about half of what Hill made with Miami in 2025.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re in the business of shopping for a low-value receiver instead of an impact guy, like Tyreek Hill, who you don\u2019t know if you\u2019re going to get the same guy back,\u201d Colon said.<\/p>\n
Kansas City Chiefs<\/p>\n
RT Jawaan Taylor<\/p>\n
This one seems like a formality at this point. The Chiefs can save $20 million against the cap by cutting the oft-penalized Taylor, who seems destined for a change of scenery at age 28. Kansas City also has a suitable replacement in-house. Jaylon Moore, who signed a two-year free-agent deal last offseason, can easily slide over to right tackle with 2025 first-rounder Josh Simmons securing the left side. K.C. should also part ways with defensive end Mike Danna this offseason to save $8.9 million on next year\u2019s balance sheet. \u2014\u00a0Jesse Newell<\/p>\n
Seattle Sold High on Name Value<\/p>\n
Another player who was seeking a lucrative contract extension last offseason was wide receiver DK Metcalf. The 28-year-old receiver\u2019s image as a top receiver in the league was slowly fading, as Metcalf\u2019s poor route running and reputation for catching the ball with his body rather than his hands were being fully recognized across the league.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks identified another suitor \u2013 the Pittsburgh Steelers \u2013 who mistakenly viewed Metcalf as a bona fide WR1. That was another excellent transaction by Schneider.<\/p>\n
While cornerback Trent McDuffie is a better player than Metcalf and is assessed as one of the top players at his position, his small stature was exposed as an outside corner. The 25-year-old defensive back has been rumored as a trade candidate this offseason, and that quietly appears to be the case.<\/p>\n
Cleveland Browns\u00a0safety\u00a0Ronnie Hickman\u00a0was assaulted in the lobby of a New York City hotel early Monday morning, the team said.<\/p>\n
The Browns said in a statement that Hickman, 24, was \u201ctreated for minor injuries at an area hospital after the incident, was later released, and is home resting with his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been no arrests and an investigation continues, according to a statement from the New York Police Department.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the first coordinator job for Rutenberg, whose previous NFL experience includes time with the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington.<\/p>\n
The Browns are now close to completing the staff of new head coach Todd Monken, who was hired Jan. 28. Monken\u2019s hiring led to the\u00a0exit of Jim Schwartz, the defensive coordinator\u00a0for the last three seasons, after he twice interviewed for the head-coaching job.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s expected that most of Schwartz\u2019s assistants from last season will remain with the Browns. Linebackers coach Jason Tarver and safeties coach Ephraim Banda had both interviewed for the defensive coordinator\u00a0position.<\/p>\n
Rutenberg, 44, spent four seasons as the Jets\u2019 linebackers coach before joining Atlanta\u2019s staff as pass game coordinator last year.<\/p>\n
A second stint in Kansas City is probably unlikely for the wideout.<\/p>\n
The biggest question surrounding Hill is his health. In Week 4, Hill suffered a devastating knee injury against the\u00a0New York Jets. The gruesome diagnosis\u00a0was a dislocated knee with multiple torn ligaments, including his ACL.<\/p>\n
During Super Bowl week,\u00a0NFL Network\u2019s Tom Pelissero\u00a0reported\u00a0that it is unknown when \u2014 or if \u2014 the speedster would be available in 2026. With so much of Hill\u2019s value tied to otherworldly speed, he may never recover in a way that puts him back in a huddle.<\/p>\n
Hill\u00a0addressed the move on Monday\u00a0via his\u00a0Twitch\u00a0feed. He confirmed that he knew the release was coming while revealing he still needs an additional surgery to repair his LCL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL offseason is barely underway, but the stove is already piping hot. Just days after the\u00a0Miami Dolphins…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2063],"tags":[15680,223,346,2025,54,2870,7,125,11587,2869,3503,1488,118,110,2438,2437,393,251,14887,22388,255,6,57,20582,424,10779,252,238,237,108394,4223,1089,855],"class_list":{"0":"post-758338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kansas-city-chiefs","8":"tag-arrowhead-stadium","9":"tag-atlanta","10":"tag-chiefs","11":"tag-chris-jones","12":"tag-cleveland-browns","13":"tag-dk-metcalf","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","16":"tag-jawaan-taylor","17":"tag-jaxon-smith-njigba","18":"tag-jaylon-moore","19":"tag-josh-simmons","20":"tag-kansas-city","21":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","22":"tag-kansascity","23":"tag-kansascitychiefs","24":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","25":"tag-miami-dolphins","26":"tag-mike-danna","27":"tag-mo","28":"tag-new-york-jets","29":"tag-nfl","30":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","31":"tag-quentin-lake","32":"tag-rams","33":"tag-ronnie-hickman","34":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","35":"tag-seahawks","36":"tag-seattle","37":"tag-tagging-hill","38":"tag-trent-mcduffie","39":"tag-tyreek-hill","40":"tag-washington"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}