When Tyreek Hill exited the field on a cart Monday night, it may have been the last time the wide receiver suited up for the Miami Dolphins .
Hill, 31, suffered a devastating dislocated knee injury that resulted in multiple torn ligaments, including his ACL. While the receiver's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said the surgery to repair his knee was a success and "he will play next season," that's no guarantee.
Either way, Hill's time in Miami may have been running out even if he wasn't injured.
Simply put: there was no way Miami planned to allow Hill to stay on the roster next season with his contract untouched.
After reworking the deal in August 2024, Hill's contract is currently set to void automatically after the 2026 season. But the receiver is due to count a whopping $51,898,750 against the Dolphins' salary cap next season.
For context, the Dallas Cowboys ' Dak Prescott has the highest salary cap hit in the NFL this season at $50,518,430. The Tennessee Titans ' Calvin Ridley leads all wide receivers with an even $28 million cap hit -- just beating out Hill's $27,698,750 cap hit for the top spot.
If the Dolphins cut Hill next offseason, the team will get back at least $23.65 million in salary cap space. By designating him as a post-June 1 release, that total would climb to $36 million in savings.
With that amount of savings on the table, there's only one path forward that keeps Hill in Miami.
The only possible solution that keeps Hill in a Dolphins uniform is a hefty pay cut. That's a reality Hill's agent is already well aware of.
"He'd love to stay with the Dolphins," Rosenhaus told Josh Moser of 7News on Tuesday . "We'd love to get together with them after the season and figure something out that works for both sides, and continue his career here in Miami. If the Dolphins are willing, we'll find a number that works for everyone."
A number that could actually interest the Dolphins might be really low. As low as it gets, perhaps.
Earlier this year, offensive tackle Terron Armstead agreed to take his $13.3 million base salary down to the veteran minimum, freeing up a significant amount of cap space for Miami while the lineman mulled over retirement.
"Ultimately, if I decide 'hey, I'm coming back, let's do this thing again in Miami,' we can have another conversation about the actual contract I will be playing on, but we're not there yet,'" Armstead said on Ross Tucker's podcast in March . "This might go down as the Jason Kelce deal. He did a similar situation for Philly I think two years in a row. So, he may be the inventor of this situation."
With so much uncertainty about Hill's health and availability in 2026, a veteran minimum deal with Hill may be the only solution that makes sense for the Dolphins.
In four years with Hill on the team, the Dolphins dealt with several headaches that come with the mercurial receiver.
In January, he took himself out of a Week 18 matchup against the New York Jets and made a pseudo trade request after the game. As recently as August, the Dolphins were still talking about Hill re-earning the trust of his teammates.
Off the field, Hill had an incident in 2023 where he allegedly hit a man in the back of the head at a Florida marina, but escaped punishment from the NFL. The league is currently investigating accusations of domestic violence made by Hill's estranged wife. In April, police were called to Hill's home due to a domestic dispute.
The Dolphins tolerated the many distractions created by Hill largely due to his production on the field, and partly because his contract left them little choice. Cutting Hill earlier this year would've meant his salary cap hit ballooned from $27.7 to as much as $71.8 million, depending on the timing of the move.
Now the Dolphins have an exit ramp available, along with plenty of reason to doubt Hill's ability to contribute in 2026 and beyond. All that adds up to an unceremonious end to Hill's tenure in Miami.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Has Tyreek Hill played his last game with the Dolphins?
