Potentially scary situation out of Jacksonville, as Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill was transported to a local hospital after suffering what looks like a serious injury during the team’s game against the Jaguars.

The Chiefs released a statement that might raise more questions than it answers, which you can read courtesy of this tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The statement is vague, but it makes it sound like Hill came close to something very serious as his “clavicle came into [his] sternum,” but ultimately dislocated his shoulder. In a separate tweet, Rapoport notes that it’s a “rare” injury, and that Packers receiver Jake Kumerow missed about two months with the same issue last year.

Fortunately, Hill seems to have dodged a bullet. He won’t require surgery and will “miss a couple of weeks,” a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (Twitter link). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that it’ll be a “few” weeks. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets that it sounds similar to an injury Danny Amendola suffered years ago, which the Rams treated as a “potential life-threatening situation.”

Details are still scarce, but the language in the Chiefs’ statement makes it seem like Hill came very close to having a serious medical issue. It looks like Kansas City’s offense will be without its best weapon for the next few games, although it likely won’t slow them down too much. The Chiefs put up 40 points today and continued to click even after Hill left the game, with number two receiver Sammy Watkins going off for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

Back in March, we learned that the Chiefs and wide receiver Tyreek Hill were negotiating a contract extension, and Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the team was willing to pay Hill roughly $20MM per season. Then, of course, news of the child abuse scandal that has dominated NFL headlines for months broke, and Hill was indefinitely banned from the team.

Breer says that Kansas City, despite its apparent inclination to give Hill a record-setting contract for a receiver, was proceeding with caution, especially because it knew that Hill had rekindled his historically toxic relationship with Crystal Espinal, the mother of his child. At one point, it seemed inevitable that Hill would be hit with a lengthy suspension, but he managed to avoid league discipline and is now back on track for a long-term deal.

Breer — whose piece also succinctly breaks down the events in this saga over the past few months, in case you should need a refresher — offers two reasons as to why the league opted against suspending Hill. First, he suggests that there has been a push among league owners, including several highly-influential ones, to get out of the “investigation business” and to go back to following law enforcement’s lead. Second, with new CBA negotiations looming, the league may choose to be cautious when it comes to matters like this in order to avoid having those negotiations become contentious like they were in 2011 (of course, the league recently opted to suspend Seahawks defensive lineman Jarran Reed for an incident that did not lead to an arrest or criminal charges, so it’s hard to say just what the NFL is thinking at this point).

But it also sounds as though the league did not get much cooperation from prosecutors in the Hill matter. A.J. Perez of USA Today reports that the Johnson County (Kansas) District Attorney’s office denied the NFL’s request for information relating to Hill’s case, citing an exception to Kansas’ open-records law as the basis for its denial.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football reminds us, the league has no authority to subpoena documents or testimony, so it is often at the mercy of local authorities. Hill is undoubtedly quite grateful for this reality, as he appears likely to end up with his $20MM/year deal (even if it comes with a number of conditions attached).

Tyreek Hill picked up a huge victory earlier today when it was announced that he wouldn’t be suspended by the league. We heard shortly after that the team was going to wait to resume contract talks, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still plan on locking him up. Sources reiterated to Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports that the team does plan on extending him still.

A source also told Paylor that “there are questions that must still be answered about Hill’s personal life,” and he writes that “there are still things that need to play out that will provide closure and comfort that a similar ordeal won’t happen in the future.” That being said, Paylor also points out an interesting factor that might entice the Chiefs to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

Both Hill and superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones are heading into the final year of their contracts. If the Chiefs don’t extend one of them before the season ends, then at least one will enter unrestricted free agency and spark a bidding war, “since NFL teams can franchise tag only one player per season.” It’s an interesting observation, as the team would certainly like to keep both under team control without letting either hit the open market.

In a video posted to Twitter, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network provided some additional clarity on the situation. Rapoport explained why the team stood by him even when things weren’t looking good, saying the Chiefs “believed he was upfront and honest with them” and never lied to them, which was a “direct contrast to the Kareem Hunt situation,” where Kansas City felt Hunt didn’t tell them everything.

Pivoting to his contract, Rapoport confirms the Chiefs “plan on making sure” that Hill is “properly compensated,” and that they’ll likely make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league. He notes that possible delays will be due to the team taking time “specifically to make sure that” complex contract language can be sorted out. It seems likely that whatever deal Hill signs will include specific language to protect the franchise in case he gets in any more off-field trouble.

For what it’s worth, Hill’s side understandably seems eager to talks going again. “Hill’s camp hopes to revisit contract talks ‘as soon as possible,'” a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. It might not go as quickly as Hill’s reps would like, but it sounds like something will get done in the near future.

The NFL has opted against suspending Chiefs star Tyreek Hill, despite accusations of child abuse. Here’s a look at the latest fallout from the league’s controversial decision:

• The NFL interviewed Hill for more than eight hours and spoke with some of his family members, but on-and-off partner Crystal Espinal declined several requests to talk (Twitter link via Ed Werder). As he notes, the prosecutor in Kansas City spoke to both Espinal and Hill and did not bring charges in the case.
• As the league’s statement indicated, today’s decision does not mean that Hill is out of the woods. “Not over yet if something new comes out from court proceedings,” a league source told Werder (Twitter link).
• In a public statement, Hill expressed gratitude towards the NFL for its decision and vowed to Roger Goodell that he would “not let [him] down.” He also said the claims against him are “false allegations,” consistent with what his camp has said in the past.
• Recently, audio surfaced of Hill telling Espinal, “You need to be terrified of me too, bitch.” In spite of this, Hill escaped further suspension from the NFL. In response to an inquiry from PFT, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said: “That audio tape was reviewed as part of the overall investigation, which also included speaking to multiple people, including family members on both sides and Tyreek Hill. In addition, other information was gathered over the last four months.”
• The Chiefs may still be interested in a contract extension for Hill, but they’re putting a pin in that for now.

On Friday, the NFL announced that there will be no suspension for Chiefs star Tyreek Hill. Still, the Chiefs aren’t in a rush to restart contract talks with the wide receiver. It will most likely be several weeks, “if not months,” before negotiations resume, James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. 

[RELATED: No Suspension For Tyreek Hill]

When the two sides sit down to talk turkey, the new contract will likely have very specific language pertaining to Hill’s off-the-field behavior. Effectively, the Chiefs will be looking to financially shield themselves from future missteps from Hill and he’ll have little room for error if trouble arises again.

Hill is presently in the final year of his rookie contract, paying him just over $2MM. His next contract should position him as one of the highest-paid receivers in the game, provided that he stays on the straight and narrow.