Wild NFL Offseason Continues as Chiefs Trade Tyreek Hill

There has been almost as much excitement in the current NFL off season as there is when they are actually playing the games, with all the blockbuster trades and free agent signings.

We had the Seattle Seahawks trading QB Russell Wilson and a fourth round draft pick to Denver for QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant, DL Shelby Harris and a bunch of draft picks, including first and second rounders this year and next, and a fifth rounder this year. Apparently, Denver thinks they are a QB away from the Super Bowl since they are mortgaging a big part of their future (the Broncos were 7-10 last season).

Speaking of mortgaging the future, the Cleveland Browns traded THREE first round picks plus a third rounder in 2023 and a fourth rounder in 2024 to Houston for QB Deshaun Watson and a 2024 fifth round pick. Watson will get a five year $230 million contract that’s fully guaranteed. Watson didn’t even play last year; he faced possible criminal charges for alleged sexual assault during massage sessions. While a grand jury declined to indict him on criminal charges, he faces 22 civil lawsuits, and could be suspended by the NFL for violating its code of conduct for sexual assault. Cleveland did pick up WR Amari Cooper from Dallas for a 2022 fifth round pick and a swap of the two teams’ sixth round picks.

Other notable QB moves include Tom Brady returning to Tampa Bay after a six week retirement, the Packers retained Aaron Rodgers with a big three year contract, and the Falcons traded 14 year veteran Matt Ryan to the Colts for a third round draft pick.

Former Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams achieved his childhood dream of playing for the Raiders after Green Bay traded him to Las Vegas for the Raiders’ first and second round draft picks. Adams signed a big contract with the Raiders; five years, 28.5 million a season. He also is reunited with Derek Carr, his college QB at Fresno State. Aaron Rodgers resigned with the Packers even though he knew a trade for his favorite target was in the works. It’s widely thought Green Bay will use one of its first round picks on a receiver, and /or make another trade or free agent signing of a pass catcher. The money Green Bay saved by trading Adams enables them to retain other players they may have had to let go due to salary cap issues, including CB Rasul Douglas and TE Robert Tonyan, which they immediately did.

And then there’s the trade between Kansas City and Miami. The Chiefs sent WR Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins for first, second, and fourth round draft picks this year and fourth and sixth round picks in 2023. Hill gets a $120 million dollar four year extension to his contract (he was already under contract for this season). Hill is known for his speed, and will be pairing up with another speedster, Jaylen Waddle, who had 104 receptions for 1015 yards last season. The Dolphins have been very active this off season and are showing they are all in on a championship run in 2022. They were 9-8 last year, just missing the playoffs. To help cope with the loss of Hill, Kansas City has signed former Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and former Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Of course, they still have TE Travis Kelce, too.