Potential Landing Spots If The Dolphins Trade WR Tyreek Hill

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill made some waves when the regular season ended and he indicated he could be looking to force his way out of Miami, making him the latest big-name receiver to enter the trade market over the past few years. 

Here’s a look at the situation, including how things got to this point between the Dolphins and Hill, what his trade value could be and which teams could potentially swing a deal for the star receiver. 

How Did We Get Here?

We had our eyes on Hill as a potential trade candidate all the way back in November, reasoning that the combination of his drop in production and significant salary would prompt the Dolphins to explore their options. 

Since then, Hill has expressed dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in Miami. Right after the season ended, Hill said he was “opening the door” to leaving and going somewhere else, then made a few other comments on social media, including changing his profile picture to a photoshop of his face on Antonio Brown during his infamous exit mid-game a few years back with the Bucs. 

Hill buttoned up after that while his agent and the Dolphins did some damage control but it still feels like things between the two sides could be tenuous. Another factor is that Hill pulled himself from the game in Week 18 once it was clear the Dolphins would be eliminated from the playoffs. Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel alluded to discipline issues in his season-ending press conference, including players being late to meetings and being repeat offenders despite fines. He didn’t mention Hill by name but that’s not a difficult dot to connect. 

All of this adds up to create a situation where the Dolphins and Hill could mutually decide the best outcome is to part ways this offseason. Hill cited missing the playoffs as a major source of his frustration but it also likely didn’t help that he was not nearly as big a piece of the offense in 2024. He finished with his worst numbers since his rookie year, 81 catches for 959 yards and six touchdowns. There are a lot of factors at play there — Miami’s quarterback injuries, a preseason wrist injury for Hill he played through all year, the leaguewide emphasis from defenses on preventing explosive pass plays — but nonetheless it’s easy to see why Hill would be frustrated. 

On Miami’s side of things, there comes a point with a lot of star receivers where the talent and production are not worth the headaches. Hill is a big personality with questionable decision-making off the field at times. When he was putting up over 3,500 receiving yards over the past two years, those foibles were a lot easier for Miami to put up with, and making Hill happy, whether with targets or a sizable contract adjustment, were bigger priorities. But as the Dolphins enter a crucial fourth season under McDaniel facing major questions about the sustainability of the environment he’s created, whether it’s the scheme on offense or the culture in the building as a whole, it’s fair to question how Hill fits in. 

There were already football reasons for the Dolphins to explore moving on from Hill this offseason, which we went into back in November. He’s due more than $27 million in guaranteed cash in 2025 but a trade would clear that from the books and clear a lot of flexibility for a Dolphins roster that’s top-heavy at the moment. While Hill is on the other side of 30 and coming off a down year, he still looked explosive in 2024 and would draw substantial interest. His contract is currently structured to allow Miami to cut him in 2026. Trading Hill would mean moving on a year early and creating a need at receiver but it would also help rebalance the books and allow the Dolphins to get something for Hill instead of him leaving for nothing. 

Miami just has to decide whether the production from Hill in 2025 is going to justify all that comes with him — the salary, the antics, the outspokenness. In my opinion, the chances of a trade are a lot higher than they were in November. 

Hill’s Trade Market

Odds are the Dolphins are not going to get the same package for Hill now that they gave up in 2022, which was a first, second, two fourths and a sixth. Hill’s going to be 31 instead of 28 and is coming off of a down year. His contract is also significant with a $10 million base salary, $15.85 million option bonus (due August 31) and nearly $2 million in per-game and workout bonuses, all guaranteed. 

That said, Hill’s an established star with one of the most valuable commodities NFL teams prize — speed. Even if his production sagged in 2024, he did not look like he lost a step. There will be a substantial market for his services, especially considering how hard it is to find quality wideouts in free agency and how this upcoming draft class might be a bit of a letdown at receiver compared to the past few years. 

The parallel to watch is with Texans WR Stefon Diggs. Last year, Buffalo traded Diggs — an aging, pricy star receiver who remained productive but saw a dip in production and was starting to wear out his welcome — to the Texans in exchange for a second-round pick, plus got back a pair of fifths. Something in that neighborhood would make sense as a framework for a trade for Hill. 

Diggs was more productive in his last season in Buffalo than Hill was this past year in Miami but the two are different types of players. Hill could still be a top option for a passing attack while Houston envisioned Diggs in a more complementary role to its other receivers. Houston agreed to pay Diggs around $22 million and void the remainder of his contract. Hill is owed over $27 million but a similar agreement could make sense as there are no guarantees on his contract in 2026. 

Working with this, we can start to build out what a theoretical trade partner for the Dolphins for Hill would look like: 

• A contending team or hopeful contender in need of a No. 1 receiver or a close approximation
• Available Day 2 pick and $27 million in cash for possibly just a one-year rental

Potential Landing Spots For Hill

Using those criteria, we can filter through the teams and start to get a sense of what Miami’s market for Hill would be. Over The Cap’s current 2025 salary cap space projections are a good starting point. These do not account for cuts and restructures but they do factor in rollover cap space and the effective cap space budgets for filling out the roster and signing draft picks. At this moment, 17 teams would have enough effective cap space to swing a trade for Hill. 

One team that would otherwise make sense that can probably be eliminated is the Patriots. New England has the most cash and cap space of any team in the league and a burning need at receiver — it’s probably not a stretch to say the Patriots’ receiving corps was the worst in football in 2024. But it’s hard to see the Dolphins trading Hill to another AFC East team. 

Here are some other candidates who make more sense as trade partners for Miami and Hill:

Washington Commanders

There are a lot of parallels between the Texans last year and the Commanders going into 2025. Both made the playoffs after hitting on star quarterbacks with the No. 2 overall pick, and both had/have plenty of resources to aggressively build around those players in Year 2. Washington can really load up the supporting cast around QB Jayden Daniels to try and maximize this surprise window of contention. 

It didn’t hurt the team as much as people thought it could this year, but Washington navigated this whole season without a real No. 2 threat outside of WR Terry McLaurin. Veteran TE Zach Ertz was reliable but not particularly dynamic. Washington cobbled things together with guys like Olamide Zaccheaus, Noah Brown and Dyami Brown as threats across from McLaurin. Going forward, that does not feel sustainable, and it would get particularly hairy if McLaurin were to get hurt.

Hill would be more than just a competent No. 2 receiver — he’d add a completely different dimension to the Commanders’ passing attack. His speed would put even more stress on defenses that have to account for Daniels both as a thrower and a runner, and prevent defenses from isolating solely on McLaurin. Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury would be able to create the same binds for defenses that McDaniel has — just without the limitations imposed by the quarterback. 

Money should be no object for Washington, with over $71 million in effective cap space. While the team traded a third-round pick for CB Marshon Lattimore at the deadline this past season, they have another pick from trading WR Jahan Dotson to the Eagles, plus their own second still. They have the assets to make a swing like this, it’s just a matter of whether they think Hill’s on-field contributions will justify the cost and be worth any risk to the locker room chemistry. 

Las Vegas Raiders

Figuring out how serious the Raiders would be in a pursuit of Hill likely comes down to who they hire as head coach and GM this offseason, and what those two plan to try and solve the quarterback position. There’s not an obvious solution at quarterback staring Las Vegas in the face this offseason and they’ve had quarterback problems for a while. That obviously is the top priority. 

However, the Raiders have ample resources to pursue a player like Hill to catch passes from whoever they settle on under center. Las Vegas has the second-most cap space of any team outside of the Patriots in OTC’s projections right now, plus their full complement of 2025 draft picks and an extra third-round pick from the Jets for the Davante Adams trade. If the goal is to build a stacked team around a rookie or lower-cost free agent, getting a player like Hill would fit the vision. 

The Raiders have breakout first-round TE Brock Bowers, who quickly looked like one of the top players at the position, and reliable WR Jakobi Meyers. Adding Hill would stretch the field for both players to have room to operate underneath, however, and give the Raiders a true No. 1 receiver to replace Adams. It would also provide much-needed firepower to keep pace in an AFC West division where they were the only team to miss the playoffs this past year. 

Adding Hill to an environment like Las Vegas wouldn’t be without risk. He’d need a strong hand at quarterback and head coach, and there are potential off-field liabilities — though perhaps not any worse than in Miami. It’s the type of swing that’s easy to see the Raiders making, however. 

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers’ playoff loss to the Texans exposed how thin their receiving corps was outside of second-round WR Ladd McConkey. Upgrading the weapons for QB Justin Herbert will be one of Los Angeles’ top priorities this offseason. If Hill is available, he’d be one of the top potential targets. 

The Chargers have the assets to do a deal like this. They’re just outside the top five in effective cap space, per OTC, and this is before any cost-cutting or restructures. Los Angeles has its full battery of picks to afford the trade cost. Some teams might be concerned whether they have the culture or leadership to channel Hill in the right direction, but with HC Jim Harbaugh, that could be less of a concern for the Chargers. 

On the field, Hill would be a superb fit. His speed paired with Herbert’s arm would give the Chargers a lot of explosive potential even in an era of defenses designed to take away the deep ball. It would prevent defenses from isolating too much on McConkey and the running game, creating space for both players to operate. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh was linked to just about every big-name receiver who was on the trade market last year as they sought to add more firepower to the passing game. Expect that pursuit to continue as this past season made it clear Pittsburgh needs more to be able to compete with the big boys in the AFC. If Hill ends up available, the Steelers should be interested. 

As evidenced by Steelers HC Mike Tomlin’s work with other high-profile, temperamental wideouts, he’s an adept button pusher who can keep big personalities all largely rowing in the same direction. While adding Hill to a receiver room that already includes George Pickens is like playing with both matches and dynamite, if anyone can pull it off it’s Tomlin. 

The Steelers have all their draft picks and $37.5 million in effective cap space, which gives them enough assets to potentially swing a deal for Hill. One key variable is going to be their plans at quarterback after getting away with paying a minimum salary for veteran QB Russell Wilson this past year. Whether it’s Wilson, backup QB Justin Fields or someone else, quarterback will probably account for a bigger line item on the budget in 2025. 

Green Bay Packers

Entering this past year, the Packers were high on their receiving corps that didn’t include a traditional No. 1 but was a deep room with complementary skill sets — Jayden Reed at slot, Christian Watson as a deep threat, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks as perimeter players. Looking back, the room needed a little more juice, as a lot of teams played the Packers straight up with man coverage and Green Bay was unable to make them pay. 

Hill not only would add another speed threat to stretch defenses on top of what Watson brings — though it’s worth pointing out Watson tore his ACL in Week 18 putting his status for at least part of 2025 in jeopardy — but he’d bump everyone in the receiving corps down a notch and into better matchups. He’d give Packers HC Matt LaFleur and QB Jordan Love a go-to weapon to lean on in big moments like third down and a clear antidote to press coverage. 

Trading for a player like Hill would be a departure from how the Packers usually do business but they have the cap space and draft picks to do it. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst talked at his end-of-season press conference about operating with more urgency to take advantage of the window he believes his team is in. Going out and getting a bonafide No. 1 receiver would definitely be acting with more urgency. 

Tennessee Titans

The Titans might not be the likeliest landing spot for Hill but they’re worth mentioning because they do need help on offense and still have a solid chunk of cap space to work with. New Titans GM Mike Borgonzi would have helped evaluate Hill when he was coming into the league with the Chiefs. However, the Titans got burned with veteran acquisitions last year and seem to want to lean more on the draft going forward. 

Kansas City Chiefs

We can’t talk about Hill without talking about a potential reunion with the Chiefs. No team knows Hill as well as Kansas City, both on and off the field. He’d be able to slot back into the system almost seamlessly. While the Chiefs have won two Super Bowls and counting since trading Hill to the Dolphins, they’ve never been able to truly replace Hill on the field. They’ll go into this offseason with receiver yet again as one of their top needs. 

The biggest thing that would stand in the way is what drove the two sides apart in the first place — money. Right now the Chiefs are in the red in effective cap space. They have ways to clear money with restructures but it would still be a challenge to afford $27 million for Hill on top of a valuable draft pick that could be four years of a cost-controlled contributor — on top of trying to keep players like OL Trey Smith and Joe Thuney. 

That’s just too much for what could be just a one-year commitment. As much history as there is between Hill and the Chiefs, it’s hard to see a reunion happening in 2025 barring a significant change in circumstances.