What to Make of the Tyreek 'Trade Target' Report

Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill is heading into what very well could be his final season with the team ... if he even finishes it out

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) works during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The status of Tyreek Hill and his standing with the Miami Dolphins is an ongoing topic, and the reality is that this won't change until the team decides to move on from him.

This should be the biggest takeaway from the new report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, suggesting that NFL executives are ready to make a move for the explosive wide receiver if he does become available via trade.

“I have talked to a few teams who are at least monitoring his future a little bit,” Fowler said on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “Could he be a potential trade target? Now, I know the Dolphins earlier this summer were telling teams, ‘No, we’re not trading Tyreek Hill.’ But they just wonder, is he going to be available? It could be wishful thinking, maybe they want him to be available. But he’s a player, when I bring up to teams, ‘Hey, who is sort of a trade target you’re watching?’ — they bring up Tyreek Hill. So, we’ll see. He’s a big option for Tua (Tagovailoa), that would be a major move if they did move away from him.”

It's easy to see why teams would want to make a move for Hill if he became available because at his best he's probably the player in the NFL with the biggest ability to change a game in an instant — just like he did against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2024 opener with his 80-yard touchdown when he outraced defenders to the corner and down the sideline one play after the Dolphins recovered a fumble in the end zone.

It's because of that explosiveness that the Dolphins have hung on to Hill despite the aggravation and frustration he has caused with his off-the-field issues, including the infamous "I'm out, bro" comments following the 2024 season finale.

But that was seven months ago, and all is well between Tyreek and Tua, based on Terron Armstead's postcast comments over the weekend.

More importantly, the Dolphins need Hill if their offense is to be a major factor in 2025, and they probably will need their offense to be just that if they hope to make the playoffs or beyond.

Pure and simple.

It's why it never made any sense for the Dolphins to trade Hill this offseason, notwithstanding the fact that he never did ask for a trade, regardless of his comments.

TYREEK AND HIS CONTRACT

But there will come a time when the Dolphins will decide to move on, and it has to do with Hill's contract.

He counts $27.7 million against the salary cap in 2025, a high figure but nothing egregious if he performs like the Tyreek Hill of 2022 and 2023, when he was named team MVP and reached 1,700 receiving yards each time.

Next year is a different story, though, and this is where the idea of a Tyreek trade comes into play.

Hill's cap number jumps to a whopping $51.9 million in 2026, according to Over The Cap, and there's probably no scenario where that's going to happen.

That means the Dolphins again will readjust Hill's contract, which would mean making a financial commitment for more years, or they will move on.

By cutting Hill next offseason, the Dolphins would save some $35 million against the cap while getting $16 million of dead cap space.

Given his age and his off-the-field history, it does seem more likely the Dolphins would move on from Hill than extend him after this season, and things could move more quickly if the Dolphins get off to a slow start.

And this is where the idea of GMs monitoring the Dolphins and Hill paying close attention comes into play.

The 2025 NFL Trade Deadline is Nov. 5, which will come after the Dolphins face the Baltimore Ravens in their ninth game of the season. If the Dolphins have a losing record at that time, would anybody blame them for entertaining trade offers for Hill?

If he's performing at a high level, who's to say what he could fetch on the trade market? And the Dolphins immediately would clear $15 million of cap space for this year.

Of course, the likelihood is that if Hill is performing at a high level, the Dolphins won't have a losing record through nine games, but stranger things have happened.

The ideal scenario for the Dolphins obviously is Hill getting back to his 2022-23 form and putting up big numbers and the Dolphins winning games, in which case they wouldn't even think of the idea of trading him in 2025.

But we don't know what's going to happen on the field, and NFL GMs around the league absolutely should be monitoring what's going on in Miami with the team and with Hill.