Injured Tyreek Hill addresses Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa situation

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill might never play for the Miami Dolphins again after dislocating his left knee and tearing multiple ligaments, including his ACL, during Miami's game against the New York Jets on Sept 29.

With Hill unavailable, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and head coach Mike McDaniel became targets of critics as the club fell to 1-6 on the season. During the latest edition of "The Set," a YouTube show hosted by former Miami offensive tackle Terron Armstead, Hill offered a strong defense of his QB1.

Tyreek Hill sees a "great leader" in Tua Tagovailoa

"Tua is a great leader," Hill said, per C. Isaiah Smalls II of the Miami Herald. "He’s passionate about Miami. He loves the community. And he wants to win games in Miami." 

The relationship between the two players consistently made headlines throughout 2025. In February, Hill publicly apologized to Tagovailoa and other teammates after the star wide receiver subbed himself out of the Dolphins' 2024 regular-season finale and then told reporters that he was "out." While Tagovailoa said in July that Hill needed to "build everything up again," the two appeared to settle any lingering beef before Week 1. 

More recently, McDaniel publicly criticized Tagovailoa after the quarterback called out teammates who failed to attend players-only meetings or arrived late to them. 

"I’m going to support Tua, you know what I’m saying? Regardless of what he’s got going on, because he’s my brother," Hill explained, according to Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post. "So I can kind of feel what he’s saying. Because, at the end of the day, that should show people that he wants to win, bro. Like, I know that some people, it’s like you’re airing out dirty laundry." 

Tyreek Hill opens up about Dolphins' "tough situation"

The 2025 Dolphins have so far only earned a victory over the winless Jets. Some believe Miami might part ways with McDaniel if the Dolphins lose at the Atlanta Falcons (3-3) on Sunday and to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 30.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio is among those who have mentioned that Miami "undoubtedly will release Hill after the season, absent a renegotiated contract that greatly reduces his $36M compensation package for 2026." Meanwhile, CBS Sports NFL contracts and salary cap expert Joel Corry and writers from The Athletic have noted that Tagovailoa is likely to remain with the Dolphins through next offseason, if only because of salary cap restrictions. 

"Everybody’s apparently on the hot seat," Hill added, per Alanis Thames of The Associated Press. "It’s a tough situation. When we were winning, things were good. People could say whatever, and it would just go out the window." 

As of Friday morning, ESPN BET had the Dolphins as 7.5-point underdogs against the Falcons.