The Tyreek Hill Experiment has failed.
Sure, the Miami Dolphins have gotten some amazing memories along the way. But it’s indisputable after yet another late-season disappearing act that the Dolphins are not going to be a championship-caliber team with Hill, Tua Tagovailoa, and Jaylen Waddle all on the same team.
Of those three, the only one that makes sense for the Dolphins to move is Tyreek.
The Miami Dolphins’ Case for Trading Tyreek Hill
And to be frank, he was probably the worst of the three Sunday — even though Tagovailoa was the one who committed four turnovers and Waddle had zero catches.
“Plain and simple, just my fault,” Tagovailoa predictably said after the game. “I’ve got to protect the ball. I’ve got to play better ball for our guys, especially in a situation where the team is counting on me to go and drive our offense down to potentially tie the game up, and that’s not what I did.”
Credit Tua for taking the heat, but that’s not the full story.
Hill was the targeted receiver on all three of Tagovailoa’s interceptions Sunday. And on at least two of them, he shouldered much if not all of the blame.
During his halftime interview with CBS, McDaniel strongly insinuated that Hill ran the wrong route on Tagovailoa’s first interception. And Hill showed next to no fight on the last two, including on the Dolphins’ final offensive play.
The Dolphins played terribly on offense for basically the entire game but still had a chance to tie it late because their defense kept getting stops.
They were 77 yards away from a potential game-tying touchdown when they took over with 104 seconds remaining in regulation.
But a drive that could have saved Miami’s season ended after one play.
Tagovailoa threw a 50-50 ball to Hill down the right sideline. Hill had the ball in his hands. Derek Stingley Jr. just ripped it away.
STINGLEY AGAIN. HIS SECOND INT CALLS GAME. #MIAvsHOU pic.twitter.com/Hv7QYO4axE
— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024
Game over. Season over. And, if the Dolphins are smart, Hill’s time with the team is over too.
Hill has put up some massive stats in his three years in Miami. But they’ve been largely empty. In the Dolphins’ two playoff losses, he has 12 catches for 131 yards — but 53 of them came on one catch (his only postseason touchdown with Miami).
In seven career games against the Bills — the team most responsible for the Dolphins’ mediocrity over the last decade — he has just 415 yards and two touchdowns.
Hill simply isn’t a big-game player for the Dolphins.
On Sunday, Tagovailoa completed 28.6% of his passes with a 8.9 rating when targeting Hill.
When throwing to literally anyone else on his team? Those numbers spiked to 81.6% of his passes with a 97 rating.
Hill and Waddle simply don’t fit well together. It was clear after last season. And it’s even more so now.
In truth, the Dolphins should have traded Tyreek at this year’s deadline. The value they could have gotten then was more than the value they will get this offseason.
But whoever’s making the Dolphins’ personnel decisions should not let past mistakes influence future decisions.
Hill turns 31 in March. He’s having his worst statistical season since his rookie year.
And he’s set to have the team’s third-highest cap figure ($28.7 million) in 2025. The Dolphins cannot cut him, thanks to the adjusted contract they foolishly agreed to before the season.
But they can trade him — probably for a Day 2 pick — and it would free up nearly $15 million in 2025 cap space if they do so with a post-June 1 designation, per Over The Cap.
They should.