The NFL announced in a statement Friday that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill would not be suspended during the 2019 season. Hill had been involved in an NFL investigation regarding allegations involving the “well-being of his child.”
Reports have since surfaced that the team remains interested in extending his contract, which is due to end at the year’s conclusion. Tuesday marked the first opportunity for media members to talk to head coach Andy Reid, who got ahead of those in attendance by first addressing the situation in an opening statement.
“The law enforcement side of it, there have been statements made on that,” Reid said. “There have been statements made by the Chiefs. There have been statements made by Tyreek (Hill) and with all those, obviously we’re comfortable with Tyreek coming back here and by the National Football League — statements by the National Football League, so we’re comfortable with Tyreek coming back here. We look forward to bringing him back here and having an opportunity to get back doing what he loves to do. He has some obligations he’ll take care of as he goes. I’m not going to get into all that. I’m going to kind of end it after this here, but we’ve all — particularly you folks here (the media) — you’ve all read all the statements, as we have. We have trust in Tyreek that we’re going to go forward in a positive way here.”
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Reid was asked about whether he stayed in touch with Hill while he was not allowed to participate in the Chiefs’ offseason workouts.
“I really didn’t,” Reid said. “I kept my distance there and let things take care of itself. He had enough things that he had to deal with besides me. But I just let things work through, and I didn’t try to influence either way about anything.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes revealed he did stay in contact with Hill throughout his time away.
“You always stay in touch with your teammates, with guys that you build relationships with,” Mahomes said. “We stayed in touch with him as much as possible, as well as letting that stuff handle itself. It was good to welcome him back now and be a part of the team and can build the team that we want to build.”
The Chiefs said in their statement Friday that it would be “appropriate” for Hill return to the team after the league found Hill did not violate its personal conduct policy. Since then, Reid confirmed he has once again been in touch with Hill.
“I have had a chance to talk to him on the phone, in person. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with him actually. He’s remorseful that he’s had to go — put all of us through what we went through and he had to go through. I feel... that’s a sensitive situation and he wants to get back and he wants to do what he needs to do to be a father and to be a player here. He’s very conscious of that.”
Mahomes, who threw passes with the fourth-year wide receiver prior to arriving Tuesday, said that he believes Hill will enter camp with an “excited mindset.”
“He’s obviously a great football player and more than that, he’s a good friend of mine and someone I work with a lot,” Mahomes added. “I’m excited to have him back out here with us and working, building that chemistry even more.”
Reid said that after missing all of offseason workouts, Hill will have a “little catching up to do.”
“We’ve put in a few new things,” he said. “He and Patrick have worked together, and the receiving corps is very close and they’ve all been together. I’m sure they’re catching him up on stuff, but until you get out there and do it, you haven’t done it. So there will be a few new things for him. He’s one of those guys that’s always in great shape. You’ve got that speed and endurance, which is very unique.”
Hill is expected to return to the team when veterans are due to report on Friday.