The New York Jets and Miami Dolphins are in serious talks to trade for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, league sources told ESPN.
Hill is expected to receive a massive contract extension from the team that trades for him, according to sources. Hill is currently scheduled to become a free agent after this season.
Both the Jets and Dolphins have trades in place for Hill, according to sources. The question now becomes where Hill wants to become the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. Once he decides, the trade is expected to happen; for now, Hill is said to be “torn.” A decision is likely within the next 48 hours.
Davante Adams is currently the highest-paid wide receiver after he signed a five-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders that averages $28.5 million per season.
Multiple teams were approached about a potential Hill trade, but the Jets and Dolphins emerged in recent days as the two finalists, sources said.
Dolphins assistant general manager Marvin Allen was the Chiefs director of college scouting for five years, from 2013 to ’17, when Kansas City drafted Hill.
Both the Jets and the Dolphins are in need of a No. 1 wide receiver to aid their young quarterbacks, Zach Wilson and Tua Tagovailoa, respectively.
The Jets, one of four teams that doesn’t have a 1,000-yard receiver or tight end on its roster, have been looking for a dynamic playmaker to accelerate Wilson’s development. Other than re-signing backup slot receiver Braxton Berrios, they didn’t add any wideouts in free agency.
The Jets have been backloading contracts in free agency in part to create cap flexibility this season, in case an opportunity like this presented itself. They have plenty of draft capital with which to trade — four of the top 38 picks, including the fourth and 10th selections. They haven’t used a first-round pick on a receiver since 2001 (Santana Moss), tied with the Seattle Seahawks for the longest active drought in the league.
Corey Davis and Elijah Moore are the Jets’ top two wideouts. They signed two tight ends in free agency, C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin. But sources said they see Hill as the missing player who could galvanize the offense.
Hill, who has been selected to the Pro Bowl in all six seasons of his NFL career, had a career-best and Chiefs-franchise-record 111 receptions for 1,239 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
He has 479 receptions for 6,630 yards and 56 touchdowns in his career. He is one of four players since 1970 with at least six touchdown catches in each of his first six NFL seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The others are Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald and Marvin Harrison.
If the Chiefs trade Hill, the Chiefs’ wide receiver corps would include free-agent addition JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, Josh Gordon, Justin Watson, Cornell Powell, Gehrig Dieter and Corey Coleman.
The Chiefs still would be expected to add wide receivers in free agency and the draft.
Since Patrick Mahomes became the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018, he’s linked up with Hill for 41 touchdowns, the second most by a QB-receiver duo in that time, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
With the exception of 32-year-old tight end Travis Kelce, who signed a four-year extension in 2020, all of the big-money contracts the Chiefs have given out since Brett Veach became the team’s general manager have gone to younger players in their mid-20s.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini and Adam Teicher contributed to this report.
