Brett Veach was asked about the decision made by the Kansas City Chiefs to trade Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. 

“It’s certainly a crazy dynamic,” Veach said. “I think we got certainly tipped off early on in free agency. When you start to see the receiver deals come in, I think it’s one of those situations where it’s probably a case-by-case basis. I’m sure it has a lot to do with where teams are and the stress to win right now and do you have a rookie under contract, or do you have a veteran?

“Someone asked me earlier about where we stand on that and I think it’s truly just the year-by-year basis. If your cap is in a situation where you’re good now and you have some years that fall where you’re in a position to be aggressive, I think teams will be aggressive. This year was just a different year for us in regards to where we were with our quarterback and some other players on the team. Now, this may come full circle where in a couple years from now we’re going out there and we’re one of those teams signing that big free-agent wide receiver. We like where the draft was and we thought this was a point in time during this run here with Pat [Mahomes] that we can take a step back and get the resources and add receivers, and we did that with [JuJu Smith-Schuster] and [Marquez Valdes-Scantling] and certainly Skyy Moore there in the draft, but also use some of those resources to add to the defense. We certainly wanted to get younger and deeper there, too. This was a scenario we took a step back and we thought it’d be best for the team and we went ahead and made that trade and I think both teams will benefit from it.”

Veach was asked it was easier to trade Hill because he had been with the team for a first contract and most of a second contract.

“Yes and no,” Veach said. “I think on one end . . . it was a third contract not a second contract. Father Time is undefeated in this league, unless you’re Tom Brady. . . . To that degree that was a part of our in-depth conversations about the landscape of the NFL, and then more specifically where we were as an organization. Yes in that regard, but also it is tough [when] on the flipside you have accomplished so much. He’s still playing at a high level. The rapport that he has with Travis [Kelce] and with Pat is special and is unique. I think it goes both ways. I think it probably helped push the ball over the goal line, so to speak, to do this. Trades like that are never easy, and they’re always emotional. I know it’s a business and everyone knows this from people that are GMs and coaches and certainly players. I mean, at the end of the day it’s a business, but it doesn’t mean that you are totally void of emotional attachments and he was certainly a player we had one with. It was tough, but I think it was certainly the best thing for our organization.”