The NFL may place Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill on the commissioner’s exempt list this week after the league and players’ union reviewed the audio tape released by KCTV5, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
The last we heard from the Chiefs was Saturday when Clark Hunt spoke to the media. Asked about the situation, Hunt said that the Chiefs were still working their way through an investigation and referred to the original Thursday night statement from general manager Brett Veach.
VEACH: “Earlier this evening, we were made aware of the audio between Tyreek (Hill) and Crystal (Espinal). We were made of this information in real time, just like the general public. We were deeply disturbed by what we heard. We were deeply concerned. Now, obviously we have great concern for Crystal, we are greatly concerned for Tyreek, but our main focus and our main concern is with the young child. As soon as the draft concluded after the last pick, I had the chance to call Drew Rosenhaus and we decided that at this time and for the foreseeable future, Tyreek Hill will not partake in any team activities. We are going to gather more information. We’re going to evaluate this information and we will make the right decision regarding Tyreek Hill.”
Here is the definition of the exempt list from the NFL Player Personnel Policy Manual:
The Exempt List is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances. The List includes those players who have been declared by the Commissioner to be temporarily exempt from counting within the Active List limit. Only the Commissioner has the authority to place a player on the Exempt List; clubs have no such authority, and no exemption, regardless of circumstances, is automatic. The Commissioner also has the authority to determine in advance whether a player’s time on the Exempt List will be finite or will continue until the Commissioner deems the exemption should be lifted and the player returned to the Active List.
Graziano also noted the league has not historically used the commissioner’s exempt list during the offseason but may make an exception for Hill since he is in the middle of an ongoing criminal investigation.
We’ll keep you updated as news on this story continues to develop.