Losing Tyreek Hill earlier in the season was a massive loss for the Miami Dolphins, or was it? Injuries are never good, and Hill had one of the worst injuries fans have seen. His recovery will be slow, and questions remain about his 2026 availability.
On the other side of that coin is his future with the Dolphins. Miami can eat his contract with a post-June 1st release. Miami would save $36 million of cap space by doing so. They would carry $15.8 million in dead money. For Hill, it may not be as easy as wanting to come back.
Mike McDaniel was forced to change his offense and the way they played on that side of the ball. They have found success without needing to rely on the standout wide receiver.
Mike McDaniel is proving he doesn't need Tyreek Hill to run a good offensive scheme
The Dolphins have been without Hill since week four of the season. Miami won that game and then lost the next three, but during that three-game slide, something began to happen with McDaniel and his approach to the team's offense.
Heralded as an offensive genius, many fans and media alike have wondered where that genius is. A former run game coordinator with the 49ers, the Dolphins' rushing attack was rather dull. From Week 1 through Week 4, the Dolphins ran the ball for just 292 yards.
In the next three losses, Miami ran the ball for 255 yards, and that included a week five loss to the Panthers that saw Miami run for only 19 yards. Since Hill's injury, Miami has rushed for more than 100 yards four times and missed a 5th by one yard.
Part of this success is the change to the offensive line using a "Jumbo Package" by adding a 6th offensive lineman, but overall, McDaniel is going back to his roots and pounding the ball. Something he didn't often do with Hill on the field.
Hill is electric, and it's hard to ignore him or use him as a decoy, but when defenses figured out how to stop him, McDaniel still felt compelled to throw the ball to him, often forcing the play instead of taking what the defense was giving. With Hill no longer on the field, Miami's running game is setting up the downfield passing.
Miami rushed the ball 83 times in the first four weeks of the season. After Hill went out, Miami increased its run total to 94 attempts over the next four games. That too includes a 14-attempt game against the Panthers in Week 5.
The last three games have started producing more. Against the Ravens, Miami ran the ball 20 times, but they passed 40 times in the loss. Against the Bills a week later, McDaniel went back to the ground and ran it 32 times. He did the same (31) against the Commanders. Miami has run the ball 83 times just in the last three weeks.
If the Dolphins are to succeed, they need to continue running the football. Hill made the passing game better, but over time, there was too much pressure on Tua Tagovailoa to feed him the ball.
Now, with the running game taking more of a priority, the pressure isn't on the quarterback anymore. Don't think the next GM will know this either; it may be why Hill is released this next offseason.