Dolphins handed clearest sign yet to trade Tyreek Hill and never look back

The Miami Dolphins continue to soak up the bad vibes this summer. It has been a rocky training camp in South Beach, both on and off the field. A lot of it boils down to Tyreek Hill, who still has not restored his reputation after a desperate and ill-considered Week 18 trade request. Both Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel seem weary of opening their hearts back up to Hill. And now, the Dolphins are getting reason after reason to consider moving on.

In addition to Tagovailoa's publicly-stated reservations about Hill, the Dolphins just aren't performing up to past standards. After bad joint practices in Chicago, the Dolphins are now stinking it up against Detroit in practice. It's bad enough that Tua is getting philosophical at the podium, which is never a great sign.

Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic called Wednesday's affair "as lopsided a joint NFL practice as I've ever seen." Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post made note of the mounting trend of bad Miami practices. If the Dolphins are truly getting "out-everything'd," then yikes.

To make matters worse, Miami's 2024 first-round pick, LB Chop Robinson, was carted off the field on Wednesday. That immediately leads to concern about his availability not only for Week 1, but for potentially the entire regular season, depending on the severity of the injury.

This sucks. Everything sucks for Miami right now. Which leads up back to Tyreek Hill...

Dolphins need to accept defeat and trade Tyreek Hill

Miami finished last season below .500 and out of the playoffs. The hope is that better health will lead to more success in 2025, but the Dolphins need to take stock of their situation and hold honest internal conversations.

Tyreek Hill went from 1,799 receiving yards in 2023 to 959 receiving yards in 2024 (in one more game played!). Sure, we got a heavy dose of Skylar Thompson and Scoop Huntley, but Hill is a 31-year-old receiver. Terry McLaurin, 29, is currently holding out because the Commanders don't want to pay him after five straight 1,000-plus yard campaigns.

Hill is past his prime — or at least in the act of passing it. He has already lost the trust of teammates and coaches alike. It's unclear if he will ever fully restore it. Factor in Miami's apparent across-the-board incompetence, and there's no reason to run this thing back. Trade Hill, take a step back, draft high in 2026, and chart a new path forward. The team as currently constructed is going nowhere fast.

Dolphins are on the verge of seismic changes

One can't help but feel like this is a make-or-break season for several members of the Dolphins organization. That may prevent them from trading Hill and actively tanking in the end, but it really shouldn't. We've seen Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel make some magical things happen on the football field before. It's not clicking right now, perhaps because of Hill. He is undeniably talented, but if the former All-Pro wideout irks teammates and questions his coaches, the chemistry — the all-important timing of this Dolphins offense — is going to fall apart.

Miami still has Jaylen Waddle, De'Von Achane and plenty of dynamic offensive playmakers to pick up the slack without Hill. This team has far too much talent to be receiving such negative reviews out of joint practices. Something chemical needs to change within that locker room. Trading Hill and at least resetting the deck a little bit should help. Plus, it's a chance to extract value from his contract before he leaves as a free agent. It's time to move on instead of pretending like there's any path to the Super Bowl in Miami right now.

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