A long road to recovery for Tyreek Hill is certain. What is less certain is what his NFL future looks like.
The Dolphins wide receiver suffered a dislocated knee in Monday’s win against the Jets, tearing multiple ligaments including his ACL that required surgery this week. The five-time first-team All Pro was in the second year of a three-year contract extension with Miami, and league sources expect the Dolphins to release Hill before the start of the next league year in March 2026.
Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has said surgery went well, an additional surgery won’t be necessary — as is sometimes the case with a knee dislocation — and that the goal will be to be ready Week 1.
But sources have cast doubt on such a speedy return from such a devastating injury even if another surgery ultimately isn’t needed.
Hill, 31, was seemingly rebounding this year after the worst season of his career in 2024. He was averaging 66 receiving yards per game through three games and had just recorded his 67th receiving yard of the night against the Jets when he suffered the season-ending injury.
An outright release before the start of the 2026 league year was always on the table regardless of injury due to how Hill’s contract is structured. Last offseason he signed a deal that was reported as a three-year extension worth $90 million. But the final year of the deal had a cap hit of nearly $52 million and mostly served to increase the average-annual-salary mark that is used as the most common metric for ranking player salaries.
The 2026 contract year has $29.9 million in non-guaranteed base salary, including $11 million in guaranteed salary if Hill is on the roster on the third day of the 2026 league year. A $5 million roster bonus is due on the same day, meaning that the Dolphins would guarantee Hill $16 million if he’s on the roster come March 14. Because the final year was mostly cosmetic, the final year of the contract did not include money that would guarantee in the event of injury.
League sources view it as next to impossible the Dolphins would guarantee such money when Hill won’t be able to pass a physical at that point, meaning Miami would release the receiver before any 2026 dollar becomes guaranteed.
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Hill’s contract extension will ultimately pay out $52.6 million over two years.
A return to Miami for Hill cannot be ruled out, but it’s impossible to know that today. The biggest factor in that decision will be Hill’s health five months from now. There is also the question of who will make that call in Miami.
GM Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel both entered the season with warm seats after team owner Stephen Ross issued a statement at the end of the 2024 season explaining why he was retaining them.
“As we now look towards 2025, our football operation will continue to be led by Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel with my full support. Their positive working relationship is an asset to the Dolphins, and I believe in the value of stability.
“However, continuity in leadership is not to be confused with an acceptance that status quo is good enough. We will take a hard look at where we have fallen short and make the necessary changes to deliver our ultimate goal of building and sustaining a winning team that competes for championships.”
The Dolphins are coming off their first win of the season last week over the Jets and face the 1-3 Panthers in Charlotte this Sunday.
