Tyreek Hill taken to hospital after suffering shoulder injury, likely to miss time

The Chiefs offense got off to a hot start, but now they're worried about the best wide receiver on the roster

Tyreek Hill may have dodged a bullet, but he's not exactly out of the woods.

In the same Week 1 contest that saw former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles ruled out of the game after heading to the X-ray room for evaluation following a big hit on a touchdown pass, Hill suffered what appeared to be a shoulder injury following a tackle by All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and was carted off the sideline and into the locker room for evaluation by the Kansas City Chiefs medical staff. He was officially ruled out shortly thereafter, and the organization issued a formal update following the Jacksonville Jaguars' Week 1 loss.

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Hill was transported to a local hospital for further tests, where it was determined he does not have a fractured collarbone. It does appear, however, that he suffered a sort of dislocation related to where the clavicle meets the sternum.

"He had a sternal clavicular joint injury, which is where your clavicle comes out of your sternum," Chiefs head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder said in a statement. "He's being treated [at the hospital] to reduce the dislocation or the injury. We don't have any more update on that. ... We'll give an update in the next day or two."

Two days after signing a three-year, $54 million extension with the Chiefs, and following a tumultuous offseason, the team is holding their breath that Hill won't miss significant time going forward. As it stands, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, no surgery will be needed and the current timeline for return is a "couple weeks." Granted, that is a bit ambiguous and could stretch longer, with the ultimate determinant being the physicians' final word.

The high-powered Hill is integral to the success of the Chiefs, even though they did fine dismantling the Jaguars without him thanks to the prowess of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a career day from Sammy Watkins. The latter hasn't proven durable himself in seasons past, so the sooner Kansas City can get Hill back on the field, the better. Hill delivered 1,630 yards from scrimmage with 13 touchdowns in 2018, and is also valued as a dangerous option in the return game. 

That type of production isn't easy to replace, but the Chiefs will have no choice to but to figure it out for now.