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Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPN
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill hinted at a potential exit from the team following a season-ending loss Sunday to the New York Jets, during which he did not play in the final quarter.
Speaking to reporters in the locker room after the 32-20 loss, which officially eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention, Hill expressed his frustration in missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. When asked for his message to the team as a captain, Hill offered a surprising response.
“I don’t even know, bruh. This is my first time I haven’t been in the playoffs,” he said. “For me, I just have to do what’s best for me and my family — if that’s here or wherever the case may be. I’m about to open up that door for myself … I’m out, bruh. It was great playing here but at the end of the day, I have to do what’s best for my career.
“I’m too much of a competitor to just be out there.”
Hill and the Dolphins restructured his contract before the season began, bringing the total guaranteed money on his 5-year contract to $106.5 million; he still has two years remaining on the extension he originally signed in 2022.
On social media, he offered a message to Dolphins fans.
“Love fin nation blessing yall opened doors for the Hill family forever,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Nothing but respect and love.”
After recording consecutive seasons with at least 1,700 yards and 119 catches in his first two years with the team, Hill turned in the worst season of his Dolphins tenure in 2024, finishing with 959 yards and 6 touchdowns on 81 catches. He recorded just two catches for 20 yards in Sunday’s loss to New York – his third game of the season with two or fewer catches after recording only two such games in 2022 and 2023, combined.
He remained sidelined during the Dolphins’ final two possessions of the game; Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters after the game that Hill’s absence was not injury related.
“I was informed that he was unavailable right before a drive. I was not informed that it wasn’t a new injury,” McDaniel said. “And I think at that point in time, my focus was on the players and I didn’t take the time to go try to figure out more into that, just if there was guys on the field that were competing. We were trying to win a game.”
The Dolphins trailed by two scores at the time and scored a touchdown on the drive to cut their deficit to five points. However, the Jets responded with a touchdown of their own on their ensuing possession to effectively seal the game.
McDaniel said he hadn’t heard Hill’s comments about a potential exit, and didn’t want to respond to “second-hand” comments made in the wake of a disappointing loss. He also declined to provide an additional response to a team captain pulling himself out of a winnable game in the final quarter.
“It would be unfair for me to match emotion with emotion,” McDaniel said. “Right after a game when your season ends, when you are fighting for it to extend and with the full belief that you have the ability for that to happen. I’m not going to make a rash judgment on something that, again, it’s a little cloudy in the heat of the moment for multiple reasons. So, I know clarity will be found and you do move forward with conviction as a football team, and I’ll look forward to having conversations with him this week.”
Hill’s comments punctuated a disappointing season for the Dolphins, who finished with a losing record and missed the playoffs for the first time in McDaniel’s three seasons with the team. Miami needed to beat the Jets and for the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Denver Broncos in order to clinch a playoff berth. The Broncos beat the Chiefs 38-0, and the videoboard at MetLife Stadium showed highlights of the game when the Broncos took a 21-0 lead in the first half.
Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell said players were aware of the Broncos score in real time, and realized that they’d be playing “for the love of the game.”
“You play the game the same way. But I’ll be lying if I told you that we didn’t notice it,” Campbell said. “I personally noticed it and I know other guys did too. And does that affect the way he played? Maybe not. We’ll never know for sure.”
Despite the disappointing season, McDaniel, who signed a three-year extension prior to the start of the season, said his “full expectation” is for both he and general manager Chris Grier to return to the Dolphins for the 2025 season.
Later Sunday, in thanking the players, coaches and fans for the season, the club posted a statement from owner Stephen Ross on X, concurring with McDaniel, adding that “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.”
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