The Miami Dolphins are entering a confusing offseason. After hopes of improving on their playoff appearance from the previous season, the team fell flat in 2024, largely thanks to an injury to Tua Tagovailoa that derailed the campaign.
Now, Tyreek Hill might potentially be on the move and an already expensive roster needs to find a way to improve. One analyst believes the Dolphins will make one of the most shocking decisions of the entire offseason in an attempt to get back to the playoffs.
Miami Dolphins Predicted To Replace Tua Tagovailoa With Veteran QB
There are bold predictions, and then there is what Sports Illustrated cooked up when discussing the 2025 season. Rather than waiting patiently and potentially figuring out a trade for Hill, he believes the Dolphins will go in a completely different direction.
“The Dolphins will sign Kirk Cousins, and he’ll eventually wrest the starting job away from Tua Tagovailoa during the 2025 season. Cousins is a coveted asset among the Shanahan-ites for his decisiveness and processing skills.”
His belief stems from the job security head coach Mike McDaniel might be losing. As a result, a Kyle Shanahan disciple, he could look towards a name that has publicly been a clear favorite of the San Francisco 49ers head coach.
However, last season was a disaster for Cousins. He finished with 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, including a four-game stretch with zero TDs and eight INTs. He ranked 24th among all quarterbacks in PFSN’s QB+ metric, far worse than Tagovailoa (who ranked eighth).
MORE: Simulate the NFL Offseason With PFSN’s Offseason Manager
Yet, SI believes that in a different, far more explosive system run by McDaniel, Cousins could thrive and show that he still has some strong football left in him.
“Cousins is a bit of a distressed asset who, in my opinion, still has some good football ahead of him. Unlike the Falcons, Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins can find a way to work him into the dynamic run game.”
But, a year after extending their quarterback to a four-year, $212 million contract, benching him for Cousins feels like a stretch. When Tagovailoa was on the field, he was still producing at a high level.
In 11 games, he tallied 2,867 yards with a career-high and league-leading 72.9% completion percentage. Shunning that away for a flyer on Cousins feels like an impossibility, but stranger things have happened in this league.
Tyreek Hill Apologizes to Tagovailoa, Dolphins Organization
Hill made headlines for all of the wrong reasons after Miami’s final regular-season game. With the Dolphins missing the playoffs, Hill couldn’t hold back his frustration and delivered his infamous “I’m out” comments.
“This is my first time I haven’t been in the playoffs, man. So I just got to do what’s best for me and my family. If that’s here or wherever the case may be, I’m finna open that door for myself,” Hill told reporters.
“I’m out, bruh. It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, I have to do what’s best for my career.”
Hill has since walked back those comments and met with the front office to settle things. He has since made it clear that he wants to stay in Miami, but he did recently put some public pressure on Dolphins general manager Chris Grier to improve the roster.
“What y’all had heard at the end of the season was frustration,” Hill said on a livestream. “I’ve been winning my whole life, bruh. Y’all don’t understand, I bust my a** every day. I deserve to feel like that; I deserve to have some kind of opinion.
“Y’all just want me to say, ‘Oh well, get ’em next year?’ Nah, f*** that. We’ve got to come back. We got to put some pressure on motherf***ers. Y’all got to fix this s***, come on. Add some motherf*****’ dogs in this b****. I compete, I love to compete, bruh.”
Hill recently apologized to his teammates during an appearance on “Up and Adams.”
Tyreek Hill on his current relationship with Tua…
"This is my public apology to you Tua, I love you bro."@heykayadams @cheetah @Tua @MiamiDolphins | #GoFins pic.twitter.com/GpazT0B7CR
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 7, 2025
“This is my public apology to you, Tua,” Hill said told Kay Adams. “I love you, bro. … Tua, he’s my guy, always will be my guy, no matter what, man. I’m sure he understands my frustration, we all wanna win.
“Tua, he’s another competitor, he’s a hell of a competitor — a lot of people don’t know that — he’s a winner, he’s consistent. So, I’m looking forward to continuing to build our relationship even more.”
When Adams pressed him about the apology extending to the entire team, Hill said yes but added that his teammates know where he stands and don’t believe the various narratives about him.
“They already know that, though. They know I’m not that kind of player, though,” Hill said. “A lot of people may say, ‘Oh, Reek is a hot-head,’ but all my teammates know — I come to work every day, I bust my tail, I show up to meetings on time, and I do what I gotta do.”
Just in case there was any doubt, Hill made it crystal clear where he wants to be playing next season in a conversation with Pro Football Talk: “I’m taking full accountability for what I said. I’m gonna come back next year. I wanna stay with the Dolphins.”
Will Hill be back next season or will Miami decide to trade him? Will Tagovailoa be back? This is a critical offseason for Miami, and it will be interesting to see just how different this team could look next season, especially with both Grier and McDaniel on the hot seat.
