‘Have to do what’s best for me and my family.’ Tyreek Hill uncertain about his future in Miami

It looks like the Miami Dolphins’ star receiver might want out.

Just minutes after the Dolphins suffered a rather humiliating 32-20 loss to the New York Jets, Tyreek Hill was asked about his message to the team in the offseason. The eight-time Pro Bowler, instead, responded questioning his own future in Miami.

“This is the first time I haven’t been in the playoffs,” Hill said Sunday evening. “For me, I have 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. I’m opening the door. I’m out. It was great playing here.”

Hill’s comments came after he finished with two catches for 20 yards. The receiver didn’t play a single snap in the fourth quarter, something that coach Mike McDaniel said he was told “right before a drive.” McDaniel refused to comment on Hill’s postgame statements.

“I’m not going to be too much weight on second hand postgame disappointment statements,” McDaniel said. “We will see how next couple days progress in convos with him and I.”

As players cleaned out their lockers on Monday, some had a very different reaction than McDaniel.

“It’s disappointing for sure but you got to move on with the players who want to be here,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb said.

Others, like Zach Sieler and safety Jevon Holland, believed that individuals are entitled to their own feelings.

“Everyone has their own voice,” the star defensive tackle said, later adding “if that’s how he feels that’s how he feels.”

Added Holland: “At the end of the day, it’s a business. He says he has to do whatever is best for his family, that’s how he’s feeling. As a leader of the team, if he’s feeling that way, he has a right to because he is his own man and he wants to put himself in the best position to be successful as well. If that’s how he felt, that’s how he felt and that’s how he’s going to continue to move. That’s his own prerogative. I don’t got no negative or positive feelings towards it.”

Soon after his comments began to make their rounds, Hill took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to thank Dolphins fans.

“Love fin nation blessing yall opened doors for the Hill family forever nothing but respect and love,” Hill tweeted Sunday. Within 24 hours, he had changed his X profile picture to a crude image of his face over Antonio Brown’s body, a reference to the fellow receiver’s infamous mid-game departure.

Hill ended the season with 959 yards receiving, marking the first time that he didn’t hit the 1,000-yard mark since a knee injury limited him to a dozen games in 2019. Although Hill has played with a torn ligament in his wrist, something that the wideout said he suffered during joint practices with the Washington Commanders, inconsistent quarterback play — namely the six-game absence of Tua Tagovailoa due to first a concussion then a hip injury — ultimately hurt his numbers.

“Missing QB1 it really hurts a lot,” Hill said Sunday before praising backup quarterback Tyler Huntley’s ability to “getting us going.” “Whenever you’re missing your franchise player, it kind of sucks.”’

Since his 2022 arrival in Miami, Hill has rewrote the Dolphins record books, racking up back-to-back 1700-yard receiving seasons as he transformed the Dolphins to one of the most productive offenses in the league. He even earned the honor of No. 1 player in the league.

Then it happened: Miami-Dade police detained Hill in front of Hard Rock Stadium just hours before season opener kickoff. The images of a handcuffed Hill subsequently went viral as pundits from inside and outside of the realm of sports projected their opinions on the incident that was many considered racial profiling. Although Hill wasn’t necessarily sure whether race played a role in his detainment, he wondered what would’ve happened if police hadn’t pulled over a multi-millionaire.

“What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?” he said. “Lord knows what those guys would have did.”

At the same time, however, Hill has found himself involved in several off-the-field legal issues during his tenure in Miami. Still, the receiver remains beloved as evinced by the hundreds of fans who lined up just to get the first look at his brick-and-mortar Soul Runner store at Aventura Mall.

“I have a crazy, young adult fan base so I want to be able to utilize that and inspire these guys,” Hill said Dec 23. “Stop by the store whenever I’m in the store. I want to show these guys that I’m a normal human being.”

The five-time All-Pro receiver’s contract runs through 2026. Hill will have a $27.7 million cap hit in 2025 yet that figure could change depending on when he’s traded. If the trade happens before June 1, the dead money cap hit would slightly rise to $28.3 million but drop to $12.7 million if occurs afterwards.