Report: Chiefs, Tyreek Hill begin discussions on contract extension

Now that the Chiefs have placed the franchise tag on Dee Ford, they’ve begun a new phase in their offseason plans.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs have started to hammer out a deal with star wide receiver Tyreek Hill. In January, NFL Network reported that the Chiefs planned to work on extensions for both Hill and Chris Jones. Chiefs GM Brett Veach also seemed to echo those sentiments at the NFL combine.

While the #Chiefs plot moves for the 2019 season and beyond, they do have some big deals coming: They have begun negotiations with star WR Tyreek Hill on what’ll be a record-setting deal, source said. Along with tagging Dee Ford, shopping Justin Houston, that’s a consideration.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2019

Signing Hill and/or Jones to an extension this season is crucial, because the Chiefs only have one franchise tag to apply during the 2020 season. If they cannot sign at least one of these players to an extension, they’re almost certainly looking to lose one in free agency a year from now.

Rapoport also says this new deal for Hill will be “record-setting.” While Hill’s play is certainly deserving of a record deal, the Chiefs should exercise caution. They handed out record-setting deals to Justin Houston in 2015 and Eric Berry in 2017. Now they’re dealing with the consequences of both of those decisions. Hopefully the contract structure will be more forgiving for the Chiefs if they do choose to extend Hill at a record number.