Why Miami Dolphins Must Consider Trading Tyreek Hill

Before the Miami Dolphins’ high-stakes road game against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, reporter Cameron Wolfe brought up trade rumors surrounding Tyreek Hill.

“From people I talk to, that is not something that is a consideration at this stage,” Wolfe said on NFL Network. “(The Dolphins) think they can get this ready for all these guys together.”

Cut to the end of the game: The Dolphins have lost 31-21 after a few brutal second-half mistakes, and the Prime Video chyron displays the factoid that only six NFL teams have ever made the playoffs after starting a season 0-3.

They’re out of time to “get this ready.”

Hill made a couple of terrific plays on Thursday, including a beautifully run route on his touchdown. He still finished with a mere 49 yards, and most of his uncaught targets were well out of reach. Just like this whopper from Week 2.

It would be great to see Hill on a contender again while he’s still in his prime. No contender currently resides in South Florida.

Forget what the Dolphins want to do. Never mind how close Miami made that game for three-plus quarters. The hard truth here is that the Mike McDaniel-Tua Tagovailoa combo isn’t working out, and Hill is one of the few players Miami has that could recoup something halfway decent in a trade.

For the second week in a row, Tagovailoa threw a brutal interception late in the fourth quarter of a winnable game. He’s cautious until he’s not. And we don’t need to guess how Hill feels about his inaccuracy. The longer Hill is on the Dolphins, the worse the body language is going to get.

We don’t even need to read body language -- Hill himself said in January he would “open that door for (him)self” and he was “out, bro.” Yes, he walked it back, but it shows it’s at least crossed his mind that he’d like a future somewhere other than Miami.

It would be irresponsible not to mention that there’s a league investigation under way concerning domestic violence allegations made by Hill’s estranged wife. Hill has denied the allegations and faces no criminal charges. Unless something changes in that realm, it’s unlikely to get in the way of a potential trade.

Why? Because Hill is the ultimate short-term rental.

You’re not building an offense around him for the next 10 years, but at present Hill is one of the most skilled pass-catchers in the game and he’d make a playoff team better. His contract runs through 2026 but has a potential out before next season, according to Spotrac. A team that acquires him can take that out or simply negotiate an extension that spreads Hill’s money out for a few years if necessary.

So, who should be lighting up Miami’s phone in the weeks to come? The Green Bay Packers, who’ve once again surrounded Jordan Love with a bunch of WR2s and no WR1? Would Hill elevate the 2-0 Indianapolis Colts’ offense and start complimenting Danny Dimes’ spiral the way he once gassed up Tagovailoa?

Or… no… not a reunion with the Kansas City Chiefs?

There’s another team on the brink of 0-3, by the way. Tagovailoa never made it work with Hill, but Patrick Mahomes would be grinning ear to ear to see the Cheetah in his huddle again.