Welcome into another edition of our Kansas City Chiefs Monday Mailbag as we answer your fan questions for the week. Audio was leaked from a friend of Crystal Espinal, Tyreek Hill’s fiancé, which can be looked at one of two ways which we will discuss in the questions. Today we have 3 questions as the offseason is in full swing and there hasn’t been much news lately, but we will attack each one of them as we would even if we had 10 questions! So without further ado, let’s get right to them!
Impulse Decisions to Release a Player, but the Next Team Reaps All the Benefits
Let us first take a look at some of the worst violators of the NFL’s personal conduct policy and what happened to them.
| May 15, 2007 | Entire 2007 season | Adam Jones | CB | Tennessee Titans | Attacking a stripper and threatening a security guard’s life |
| July 27, 2007 | Indefinite (reinstated in July 2009)[46] | Michael Vick | QB | Atlanta Falcons | Involvement in the Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting scandal |
| August 13, 2009 | Entire 2009 season | Donté Stallworth | WR | Cleveland Browns | Crashed into and killed a pedestrian while DUI | [63] |
| September 23, 2009 | Until release from prison in 2011 | Plaxico Burress | WR | Free agent | Aforementioned accidental shooting |
| April 21, 2010 | 6 games (later reduced to 4 games) | Ben Roethlisberger | QB | Pittsburgh Steelers | Violation of the league’s personal conduct policy |
| September 8, 2014 | Indefinite[e] (appealed and overturned two months later)[107] | Ray Rice | RB | Baltimore Ravens | Violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, stemming from a domestic violence incident |
| November 18, 2014 | Indefinite (reinstated in Feb. 2015)[113] | Adrian Peterson | RB | Minnesota Vikings | Violation of the league’s personal conduct policy |
| April 22, 2015 | 10 games (later reduced to 4 games)[121] | Greg Hardy | DE | Dallas Cowboys | Violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, stemming from a domestic abuse charge |
Micheal Vick came back to the league after a 2 year prison sentence. Ray Rice got his suspension overturned after 2 months. Adrian Peterson only sat out a few months as well for beating his child with a belt, which was proven unlike Tyreek’s has been proven to this point. Then there is former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt who the Chiefs never should have cut, but did because of the immediate reaction and fan outcry to cut him after seeing the video. Now, the Cleveland Browns get to reap the benefits of a top 5 running back in the league and this is what Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens had to say about Kareem yesterday.
Browns coach Freddie Kitchens gave an update on Hunt during the draft, saying Hunt is “exceeding expectations.” “He is doing great,” Kitchens said. “He is doing everything we are asking him to do. Exceeding expectations from the standpoint of how he is in the building, how he is around the players and how he is on the field. I have never been around him until now, but that’s what I see and that’s what we have gotten. He is doing things in the community. He is continuing to work on an everyday basis, and he is not taking any days off from the standpoint of becoming a better person, a better player, and I think everybody is going to see the benefits of that.”
– Cleveland Browns Head Coach, Freddie Kitchens
Why should the team that these things happen to be pressured to immediately release a player instead of banning them from the team while waiting for the entire process to play out? The Chiefs overreacted and impulsively and preemtively cut Kareem Hunt and now they are paying for it as he is only suspended 8 games. Nobody is burying the Browns for employing Kareem Hunt, yet they are praising the pick up and the addition he will be for them when he comes back. Meanwhile, pundits turn up their noses and cast their judgmental stones from their ivory towers down upon the Chiefs for still employing Tyreek Hill. This is an NFL problem and making it solely a Chiefs problem is extremely shortsighted. Where is their outrage over Kareem Hunt, Ezekiel Elliott, Adrian Peterson, etc.? These things, as awful and disgusting as they are, at some point become yesterday’s news in the NFL. Kareem Hunt should undoubtedly still be a member of the Kansas City Chiefs and Tyreek Hill should remain a Chief unless he is banned from the NFL and the suspension is upheld by all the courts it would go through during his appeal.
Trade for Veteran CB, WR, or TE help?
The Chiefs have big holes at wide receiver, tight end, and corner even after the 2019 NFL Draft. I know there are rumors out there of Arizona Cardinals corner Patrick Peterson and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver AJ Green being on the trade block, but after the Frank Clark trade I don’t think we have the ammunition to pull off a trade for either. Sammy Watkins is almost a guarantee to get injured for a good stretch of the season. The rest of the wide receiver corps is extremely suspect. The Chiefs do not have a true number 1 shut down corner. They are also hurting at backup tight end so if anything happens to Travis Kelce the Chiefs are in serious trouble. Not to mention it would just be nice to have another weapon at backup tight end for Patrick. The only option I see for the Chiefs is scouring the post preseason cuts and making quality pickups through that route. I don’t see anymore trades happening, although I’d give the farm for Patrick Peterson!
What Do We Do if Hill is Gone?
My first emotional reaction is to throw in the towel and say all hope is lost, but that doesn’t make for a thought-provoking and detailed answer. So, I will do my best to talk about the situation and talk about what needs to happen for the Chiefs to stay as a top contender in the NFL. First, to me the audio can be taken in two ways:
- Tyreek is a scary and dangerous man that must have done this horrible act.
- Crystal knows the conversation is being recorded so she can make her accusations and stay calm since she knows she needs to come off the victim in the recording.
This seems like a toxic relationship where both are severely lacking parenting and relationship skills. I’d like to have heard Crystal’s tone and words if this conversation was happening and being recorded by someone else without either of their knowledge. Tyreek still denied breaking his son’s arm and I feel there still is no proof as to what happened or who the culprit was. This could have easily been Crystal making this recording and blaming Tyreek and making up all these facts about what the kid says to her about “Daddy did it!” Somehow though, fans are taking Crystal’s word as gospel and hey if she said that’s what happened then that’s what happened.
If Tyreek is gone then the Chiefs will need to hope and pray that Mecole Hardman is the next coming of Tyreek Hill, receiver wise. They will also need Sammy Watkins to play all 16 games this season which is asking a lot. This defense looks like it should be improved so if the Chiefs can figure out a way to stay in the top 5 on offense then they should be able to be right there at the end. All I know is that I’d let the whole Tyreek situation play out fully before I make a move. If he’s not banished from the NFL for life and is allowed to play again then I’d make sure it was for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chiefs First 3 Draft Picks – Highlights and Interviews
Thank You
That’s it for another edition of our Chiefs Monday Mailbag! Thank you to Clint Switzer, Kim Moseley, and Rick Campbell for the great questions! Also, a big thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to read this! If you want to submit a question just comment below and I’ll answer it for next week’s mailbag! Until next time, take care of yourself and each other!
Let Your Voice Be Heard in the Comments Section Below
- Why must the Chiefs cut Tyreek, but the Browns are fine signing Kareem Hunt?
- What can the Chiefs do to bolster their WR’s, CB’s, and TE’s?
- What’s next for the Chiefs if it’s life without Tyreek Hill?
- Have a question for next week’s mailbag? Comment below!
