Insider explains when Dolphins could trade WR Tyreek Hill this offseason

There remain more questions than answers at this stage of the Miami Dolphins' offseason regarding whether or not star wide receiver Tyreek Hill will essentially force an exit from the club before the 2025 campaign gets underway. 

Per Dolphins reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN, Hill may have to wait a bit of time to get his wish if he decides he wants to move on from the Dolphins. 

"Trading or releasing him before June 1 would result in a $28.3M or $56.9M dead cap hit, respectively," Louis-Jacques said about Miami's handling of Hill for a piece published Monday. "Trading him after June 1, however, would result in a $12.7M dead cap hit in 2025 and a $15.6M dead cap hit in 2026; it would save Miami $15.9M in 2025. A post-June 1 trade makes the most sense if Miami decides to trade him -- but the team almost certainly would not get the same type of return it paid for him in 2022: a first-round pick, a second-round pick, two fourth-round picks and a sixth-round pick."

The biggest reason the Dolphins should want to hold onto Hill is that they would, on paper, be better with him than without him through at least January 2026. ESPN stats show that he led the team for this past regular season with 959 receiving yards and 123 targets. Hill was second on the Dolphins with 81 receptions and tied for second with six touchdown grabs. 

With all that said, he generated headlines when he subbed himself out of Miami's regular-season finale against the New York Jets on Jan. 5 before he told reporters he was "out." 

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier subsequently insisted that Hill had not requested a trade, but the 30-year-old recently teased that he could have some interest in joining a Tampa Bay Buccaneers side that may allow veteran receiver Chris Godwin to reach free agency after he suffered a dislocated left ankle this past October. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers will also need help at the position even if they hold onto disgruntled wideout George Pickens through the upcoming NFL Draft. For an article published on Jan. 8, The Athletic's Mike DeFabo suggested that Pittsburgh could send Pickens to Miami in return for Hill as a way for the teams to rid themselves of potential future headaches.