Clarity offered on Hill waving hands to exit. And coaches dish on Dolphin players
Dolphins fans have become accustomed to the visual: Tyreek Hill makes a catch - or runs a grueling route that doesn’t result in a catch - and then waves his hand to ask out of a game.
Does Hill do this more than most receivers? And why does it seemingly happen so often?
Receivers coach Robert Prince addressed that on Thursday, saying that Hill asking to come out is more the byproduct of the physical toll of running routes, not exhaustion from pre-snap motion.
“We send Tyreek deep a lot,” Prince said. “We would love for him to get every play. If he gets every play, he’s not going to be running at the same speed.”
Prince said he’s fine with Hill asking out for first or second down. But on “third down I tell him, ‘Don’t look at the sideline. Go back to the huddle.’”
But Prince said he’s OK with Hill asking out on third down during two-minute drills.
“Two minutes, that’s a little different story,” Prince said. “Those guys are running, running, running. If it’s third down, generally you will see him on the field.”
In his previous three seasons with the Dolphins, Hill played 76, 67 and 80 percent of the team’s offensive snaps when he was available to play. This year, he’s playing 79 percent of the snaps.
Here’s how that compares with the NFL’s top five in receiving yardage last season:
Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase (played 93 percent); Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (93 percent), Jacksonville’s Brian Thomas (80 percent), Atlanta’s Drake London (90 percent) and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (88 percent).
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the opener, Prince on Friday took responsibility for the late substitutions that contributed to two damaging delay of game penalties late in the Week 2 loss against the Patriots.
Both plays involved Hill and other players, including one instance where Hill re-entered the game and Prince wasn’t necessarily expecting it. “That was totally on me,” Prince said.
Hill has 15 receptions for 198 yards and a touchdown in three games; 12 of those have gone for first downs.
“He’s been great,” Prince said. “He loves to be coached. He wants feedback. He wants to be pushed. It’s been great with him.”
More from assistant coaches
More highlights from a session with five Dolphins coaches on Friday, heading into Monday’s home game against the Jets (7:15 p.m., ESPN, CBS-4):
▪ Prince, who replaced the dismissed Wes Welker, suggested during the offseason that the receivers learn juggling in order to improve hand-eye coordination.
That appears to have helped Jaylen Waddle, who has no drops so far after dropping six passes last season.
Waddle last season he was “trying to move without the ball too much.” This year, he’s looking the ball in more.
“It’s been more about the concentration,” Prince said. “He has done a great job.”
▪ Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver was asked if he ever expressed concern about the Dolphins’ defensive personnel to general manager Chris Grier during the offseason or training camp.
He didn’t answer directly but said “We have all the guys we need…. My job is to cook the dinner whatever ingredients are bought.”
He also said in general, there’s no coach who doesn’t want more talent.
The Dolphins are permitting a league-worst 32.3 points per game.
▪ Weaver on rookie defensive linemen Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips: “Both him and Jordan are pleasers. The last thing you want to do is make them robotic and there’s a little bit of that going on. You’ve done the training - when the ball is snapped, it’s time to just go play and say, ‘I know what my job is supposed to be and I’ve got to make a play.’”
▪ Weaver, on defensive lineman Zach Sieler’s slow start: “The numbers will come inevitably. He’s the ultimate team guy. I said early on he was trying to do too much. Last game, did a better job of taking some of that off his plate.”
▪ Why did the Dolphins have an aggressive pass rush on that doomed Bills punt in Buffalo, the one that resulted in a Sieler roughing penalty that gave Buffalo new life on the game winning drive in its 31-21 win.
Special teams coach Craig Aukerman, speaking for the first time since the Bills game, said he must “do a better job” but doesn’t seem to regret that decision:
“You still want to put a little pressure on the punter. You want to have him speed up the process.”
But he added: “It’s my position to put the players in the best situation. What we asked Zach to do is we are going to bull rush the center and drive him back. Unfortunately, he was too successful. I’ve got to do a better job of putting him in a better position, maybe not rushing [him], let our offense get the ball back. I’ve got to do a better job of putting guys [in better position].”
▪ Will Jason Sanders be ready to kick in Week 5, when he’s eligible to return from injured reserve? It doesn’t sound promising.
“We don’t want any setbacks,” Aukerman said of Sanders’ hip injury. “Who knows when [his return] is?”
▪ Secondary coach Brian Duker said Cornell Armstrong and safeties will handle the nickel cornerback role in the absence of Jason Marshall Jr., who’s likely out with a hamstring injury.
Duker said he was “very happy” how Armstrong played against Buffalo.
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 12:44 PM.
