Dolphins Release Star WR Tyreek Hill in Shock Move
The Miami Dolphins have released star wide receiver Tyreek Hill in a major roster move designed to free up salary cap space. The move is considered one of the biggest single-player releases in recent years. Analysts are now speculating on Hill’s next destination, with retrospectives on his 2022 trade from Kansas City highlighting the volatility of NFL contracts.
- The move to release Hill provides the Dolphins with significant salary cap relief, saving them approximately $22.8 million against the 2026 cap. Prior to this and other cuts, the team was projected to be $17.4 million over the salary cap. The release does, however, leave the team with a "dead money" charge of about $28 million. - Hill's original contract with the Dolphins, signed after the 2022 trade, was a four-year, $120 million deal that made him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL at the time. He later signed a restructured three-year, $90 million deal that ran through the 2026 season. - The Dolphins acquired Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs in March 2022 in exchange for five draft picks: a first-round, second-round, and fourth-round pick in 2022, plus a fourth-round and sixth-round pick in 2023. - In his first two seasons with Miami (2022 and 2023), Hill was highly productive, recording consecutive seasons with over 1,700 receiving yards. In 2023, he led the league with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, earning first-team All-Pro honors. - Hill's production saw a decline in 2024, and his 2025 season was cut short by a significant knee injury (a torn ACL and dislocated knee) in late September. In the four games before his injury in 2025, he had 21 catches for 265 yards and one touchdown. - The release of Hill was part of a larger roster overhaul by the Dolphins' new general manager, Jon-Eric Sullivan, and new head coach, Jeff Hafley. The team also released pass rusher Bradley Chubb, guard James Daniels, and wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to create more cap space. - At 32 years old and recovering from a major knee injury, Hill will now be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. A potential return to the Kansas City Chiefs has been mentioned as a possibility by analysts.
