Getty Tyreek Hill celebrates a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills.
Tyreek Hill has haunted the Buffalo Bills in two straight postseasons, and now they’ll be forced to see him twice each season. It’s a tradeoff many Bills fans are happy to make.
The Kansas City Chiefs shipped the speedy playmaker to the Miami Dolphins in a blockbuster deal that will see him become the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, the Dolphins gave up a massive haul to land Hill, sending the Chiefs a 2022 1st-round pick (No. 29), a 2nd-round pick (No. 50) and a 4th-round pick along with 4th- and 6th-round picks in the 2023 draft.
Though the trade boosted the AFC East and created a more difficult path to a third straight division title for the Bills, many Buffalo fans were happy to see a top rival lose their most explosive player.
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Bills Fans Happy to See Chiefs Weakened
Over the last two postseasons, there may have been no single player more responsible for ending the Bills’ season than Hill. He made nine catches for 172 yards in the 2021 AFC Championship game, turning in a series of big plays that helped the Chiefs seize and keep momentum. He had an even bigger game last postseason, making 11 catches for 150 yards and a key touchdown in Kansas City’s 42-36 overtime victory in the divisional round.
Given Hill’s history of killing the Bills, many Buffalo fans were thrilled to see him gone from one of their biggest roadblocks to the Super Bowl.
“I need Tyreek Hill gone TODAY. On the field that man is a Game Changer! He’s the 1 player in the NFL I think the Bills can’t cover,” one fan tweeted. “Take him off KC and they are in Huge trouble when we see them again in the playoffs. Send him to the Jets or Miami. KC is my target, not my division.”
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“As if this offseason couldn’t be more perfect for the #Bills,” tweeted another. “I don’t care that Tyreek Hill is in our division now, breaking up him and Patrick Mahomes is HUGE. I am absolutely here for the Chiefs’ downfall.”
Bills Used Hill as Benchmark
Buffalo’s front office was keenly aware of the effect Hill had on the Chiefs’ offense, and used him as something of a benchmark for their own offseason plans. Bills general manager Brandon Beane mentioned Hill specifically when talking about the team’s need for a potential game-breaker.
“You’d love to have a RAC (run-after-catch) guy that you can get the ball to and he can turn a 5-yard pass into a 60-yard touchdown,” Beane said, via The Athletic. “We talked about speed here. You can never have enough of that. So we’ll continue to look for various ways.”
It’s official. 👌
We’ve signed WR Jamison Crowder to a one-year deal: t.co/JqcnG4zk2C
The Bills have not done as much work on skill players this offseason, focusing more on the offensive and defensive lines, but did add one playmaker in former New York Jets wide receiver Jamison Crowder. The 28-year-old made 51 catches for 447 yards and two touchdowns on the New York Jets last season, and will now be able to fill some of the void left with the release of Cole Beasley.
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