Following the Miami Dolphins’ Week 18 loss to the New York Jets, Tyreek Hill’s postgame comments made headlines, as he suggested that he wants out of Miami. Let’s break down Hill’s contract and then examine several potential landing spots for the superstar wideout.
The Dolphins’ Options for Moving On From Tyreek Hill
After the game, Hill didn’t mince words and suggested that his days in Miami are numbered.
“This is my first time I haven’t been in the playoffs,” Hill told reporters. “I just gotta 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. I’m opening the door. I’m out, bro. It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, bro, I got to do what’s best for my career.”
The Dolphins’ options for getting Hill off their books in the 2025 offseason are limited. He would leave behind $55,947,500 in dead money if they were to cut him, which is an increase of $28,248,750 over his current cap number.
Even as a designated post-June 1 cut, Hill’s cap number for 2025 would increase significantly to $40,378,750 (+$12.68 million). A trade is the most interesting potential outcome with a $15.85 million option bonus that must be exercised by the end of August 2025.
Hill would still leave behind significant dead money in terms of his signing bonus and previously restructured payments ($28,297,500), but it would only be an increase of $598,750 over his current cap number.
With the option bonus not due until August, Miami could trade Hill after June 1, which would actually save them $14.97 million in 2025. That money would then hit the cap in 2026, but a dead-money split of $12,728,750 in 2025 with the remaining money in 2026 is much easier to swallow.
Of course, it does mean the Dolphins have to keep Hill on their books until then and have a trade partner that’s willing to wait for that date.
6 Potential Landing Spots for Tyreek Hill
Following Hill’s postgame comments, the rumor mill started churning. What are some potential landing spots for the star wide receiver if Miami decides to trade him?
Let’s examine six potential suitors with the necessary cap space to take on his contract. It’s worth noting that if Hill is traded, his cap hit would only be $15.97 million for his new team.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Whenever a star wide receiver hits the market, the Pittsburgh Steelers seem to pop up as a potential suitor.
Pittsburgh reportedly expressed interest in Davante Adams, Brandon Aiyuk, and Christian Kirk, among others, but they weren’t able to pull off a blockbuster trade for any of these receivers.
While the Steelers acquired Mike Williams in a deal with the New York Jets before the trade deadline, he’s 30 years old and on an expiring contract. Also, Williams hasn’t produced much since arriving in Pittsburgh; in nine games, he had just nine catches for 132 yards and one touchdown.
The Steelers will likely be in the market for a wide receiver this offseason, and pairing Hill with 23-year-old George Pickens could give them a terrific one-two punch that could take the offense to the next level.
Los Angeles Chargers
After moving on from veterans Keenan Allen and Williams, the Los Angeles Chargers turned to young talent at the wide receiver position.
Los Angeles’ top four wideouts are all age-25 or younger: Ladd McConkey (23), Quentin Johnston (23), Joshua Palmer (25), and Derius Davis (24).
The Chargers have to be pleased with what they’ve seen from McConkey (the No. 34 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft) and Johnston (a sophomore who has looked significantly better than he did in Year 1). Both exceeded expectations this season.
Still, there’s room for another pass catcher on Los Angeles’ roster, especially with Palmer hitting free agency this offseason.
Justin Herbert is an uber-talented quarterback who has shown he can produce when given the weapons and opportunity. After winning 11 games in Jim Harbaugh’s first season, perhaps the Chargers would be open to adding Hill in hopes of speeding up their timeline.
Las Vegas Raiders
This is a big offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders, and bringing in an alpha WR1 is a high priority. While they need to figure out their quarterback situation, they also need to upgrade their receiving corps.
Brock Bowers is a terrific tight end and a quarterback’s best friend, and Jakobi Meyers is a solid complementary receiver.
But ideally, the Raiders will land a star wideout since this became a glaring need after Adams was traded to the Jets before the deadline.
Aside from Meyers, no other Raiders wide receiver had 550 receiving yards this season. It’s possible that Las Vegas will try to add a receiver through the 2025 NFL Draft, but Hill could give them a sure thing.
Arizona Cardinals
Marvin Harrison Jr. is a rising star who scored eight touchdowns during his rookie season, and a duo of Harrison and Hill would make life significantly easier for Kyler Murray.
Michael Wilson made strides this year and Greg Dortch is solid, but they are both role players who would be better served as secondary options.
The Cardinals are coming off a disappointing eight-win season in which they missed the playoffs, so perhaps they would be open to a bold move that could help them compete in the loaded NFC West.
Hill, Harrison, Trey McBride, and James Conner would give Murray plenty of weapons and make Arizona a much scarier team going forward.
Minnesota Vikings
Can you imagine a one-two punch of Hill and Justin Jefferson, plus Jordan Addison in the slot?
The Vikings have the necessary cap space to take on Hill, and perhaps their 14-win season will give them the confidence to push their chips to the middle of the table and pull off a blockbuster move.
Hill and Jefferson would form one of the best wide-receiver tandems of all time, and they would be extremely difficult to contain since both players are accustomed to seeing double teams.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell would have a field day drawing up plays for Hill, Jefferson, and Addison.
Detroit Lions
The Lions’ offense is scary enough as is, but what happens if they were to add Hill to the mix? Detroit will have nearly $60 million in cap space this offseason with 40 players under contract, so they could realistically afford Hill.
The Lions already have Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, so they aren’t as WR-needy as some other teams on this list.
For Detroit, this move would be more about trying to push an already-talented team over the edge in hopes of winning a Super Bowl.
However, the Lions have built a strong culture around team-first players, so it’s possible they wouldn’t want to risk introducing Hill to their locker room given his antics.
Hill’s recent outburst and head coach Mike McDaniel’s insinuation that he quit on the team in Week 18 could scare some teams away and hurt the wideout’s trade value.