Dolphins' underwhelming preseason opener will fail to stop Hill rumors

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Dolphins' underwhelming preseason opener will fail to stop Tyreek Hill rumors

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Aug 10, 2025 5:20 PM ET

The Miami Dolphins reportedly don't want to trade Tyreek Hill, but the star wide receiver might have other ideas after the team's shaky preseason opener.

The Dolphins starting offense played one drive in Sunday's 24-24 tie against the Chicago Bears. Hill didn't suit up in the road game because of an oblique injury.

The unit engineered a 15-play, 54-yard drive in the first quarter but failed to capitalize in the red zone. On a 4th-and-goal at Chicago's one-yard line, Bears third-year linebacker Noah Sewell stuffed Dolphins running back Jaylen Wright for a three-yard loss.

Noah Sewell makes a play to end the Miami drive!

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The Dolphins' ability to score in short-yardage situations was a problem last season. Miami ranked 16th in the NFL in red-zone percentage (56.6%) in 2024, via Team Rankings.

If the problem carries over into the regular season, that would probably frustrate Hill, who doesn't seem happy in Miami. After the Dolphins missed the playoffs in 2024, the WR indicated he wanted a trade before backpedaling on that stance.

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has indicated they have no plans to trade the eight-time Pro Bowler, but it sounds like WR-needy teams are monitoring the situation.

"I know the Dolphins earlier this summer were telling teams, no, we're not trading Tyreek Hill," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said Sunday on "SportsCenter" (h/t CBS Sports' Cody Nagel). "But they just wonder if he's going to be available? It could be wishful thinking. Maybe they want him to be available, but he's a player that when I bring up the teams and say 'What sort of a trade target are you watching?' They bring up Tyreek Hill, so we'll see. He's a big option for [quarterback Tua Tagovailoa], and that'd be a major move if they did move away from him."

It's smart for teams to keep an eye on Hill. It's easy to see why the Super Bowl LIV champion would consider leaving Miami. The Dolphins clearly have multiple issues that could prevent them from reaching the postseason in 2025.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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