How the Miami Dolphins plan to fix relationship with Tyreek Hill
The Miami Dolphins organization addressed its “Toxic Tyreek” problem in two separate one-hour meetinga with the All-Pro receiver, and it appears Tyreek Hill remains in the franchise’s future.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has spoken to Hill in the days that followed him pulling himself from last Sunday’s game, and stopping just short of demanding a trade following Miami’s season-ending 32-20 loss to the New York Jets, which kept the Dolphins (8-9) from producing a winning season for the fifth straight year.
“The competitive spirit of [Tyreek] can represent in post game in a season, or game that nobody likes.... I was very direct with him. He was very honest. We left it on great terms,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “We discussed multiple things, including, without wavering that it’s not acceptable to leave the game and won’t be tolerated in the future and he embraced accountability. I wouldn’t say there is anything to fix as much as we had to clear the air.”
Hill, who had fought through mounting injuries to turn in his second-least-productive season of his accomplished NFL career, welcomed the possibility of leaving the Dolphins, a franchise that earlier this season he vowed he’d retire with.
“I’m opening the door. I’m out bro. It was great playing here, but at the end of the day I got to do what’s best for my career,” said Hill, who caught 79 of the 120 passes thrown his way in the 16 games he played in 2024, turning them into 939 yards and six touchdowns. “I’m too much of a competitor to be just out there.”
However, it seems as if Hill backed off requesting a trade on Monday. However, the Dolphins could be posturing to improve his trade value.
“In a frustrating season he was very emotional,” general manager Chris Grier said about Hill’s outburst. “He never asked for a trade with him.”
Since his 2022 arrival in Miami, Hill has rewrote the Dolphins record books, racking up back-to-back 1,700-yard receiving seasons as he transformed the Dolphins to one of the most productive offenses in the league. He even earned the honor of being voted by his peers as the No. 1 player in the league in the NFL Network’s Players Top 100 poll.
Although Hill has played with a torn ligament in his wrist, something that the wideout said he sustained during joint practices with the Washington Commanders, inconsistent quarterback play — namely the six-games Tua Tagovailoa missed due to his concussion issues early in the season and then a hip injury that forced him to miss the final two games — ultimately hurt his numbers.
The Dolphins finished this season ranked as the NFL’s 18th-best offense, which is the lowest ranking the team has had in the McDaniel era.
The question that Miami’s decision makers must address is how much worse could the offense get without Hill if he’s traded, released or retiring.
The five-time All-Pro receiver’s contract runs through 2026.
Hill will have a $27.7 million cap hit in 2025 yet that figure could change depending on when he’s traded. If the trade happens before June 1, the dead money cap hit would slightly rise to $28.3 million but drop to $12.7 million if occurs afterwards.
The Dolphins traded a first-, second-, two fourth-round picks and a sixth-rounder to acquire Hill from the Chiefs in 2022, but it’s highly doubtful they receive anything greater than a second-round pick, or the equivalent of that because of his existing contract,
If Hill’s moved he would become third diva receiver the franchise has moved in recent years, following Brandon Marshall and Mike Wallace. The Dolphins moved Marshall to Chicago for two third-round picks after acquiring him from Denver for two second-round picks the two seasons earlier.
Minnesota acquired Wallace and a 2015 seventh-round draft pick from Miami for a fifth-round pick.
This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM.
