Tyreek Hill To Face Bills at Least Twice per Season After Trade to Dolphins

The speedy wide receiver lands in the AFC East after contract negotiations with Kansas City break down.

On the one hand, the Buffalo Bills' principal playoff rival has been weakened (at least temporarily) by a surprise trade on Wednesday that sent All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Miami Dolphins.

On the other, the player with devastating speed and yards-after-catch ability now is in the Bills' division, which means they'll have to contend with him at least twice per season, barring injury.

This transaction comes just one day after the Bills announced the signing of wide receiver Jamison Crowder and nearly two full months after Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters: "If you guys see a guy like Tyreek Hill out there, let me know, I’d love to have him."

Hill caught 11 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs' 42-36 overtime win over Buffalo in January. One of those receptions went for 19 yards during a two-play, 44-yard drive that took just 10 seconds off the clock and set the Chiefs up for a game-tying field goal as time expired in regulation.

So how could he wind up in the same division with the Bills without wearing their uniform?

Easy. The Dolphins had the kind of salary cap flexibility and draft capital to get the deal done. Ironically, so too did the New York Jets, who also made a strong bid to get Hill.

But no way could the Bills have been players in a trade that netted the Chiefs five draft picks, including first- and second-rounders this year, and made Hill the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history with a four-year, $120 million contract extension that guarantees him $72.2 million.

In the meantime, Bills top receiver Stefon Diggs, who is due for a contract extension himself, posted a curious reaction to Wednesday's event on Twitter.

The hell going on…

— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) March 23, 2022

Diggs is entering the final two years of a contract he agreed to restructure when he was traded to Buffalo by the Minnesota Vikings in 2020. He is due a base salary of $12.5 million guaranteed this year and $12.5 million that is not guaranteed next year.

That's chump change compared to the contracts of Hill and Davante Adams, who was recently traded from the Green Bay Packers to the Las Vegas Raiders in a deal that included a contract extension worth $140 million over five years.

Beane has said that a contract extension with Diggs is not a priority at this stage of the offseason.

But maybe it has to be now.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.