MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Miami Dolphins players received a surprise visit at Friday’s meeting: wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel reported that Hill attended the meeting three days after undergoing surgery on his left knee, which ended his season. Hill had been hospitalized since suffering the injury in Monday night’s victory against the New York Jets, but was able to return to the facilities to offer words of encouragement to his teammates.
The Dolphins face relatively uncharted territory starting with this week’s game against the Carolina Panthers. Since they signed Hill in 2022, they’ve only played one game without him, a 30-0 victory over the Jets in 2023. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who signed a three-year, $84.75 million extension last May, assumes the team’s primary receiver role in Hill’s absence. However, McDaniel stated that Miami has always viewed Waddle as a number one receiver, and Waddle noted that this concept is more a media creation than a real role.“Tyreek was in the building today,” McDaniel said. “He came into the team meeting and made sure the guys stayed motivated to have complementary football with 11 players playing as one in all three phases of the game.”
Mike McDaniel
Since entering the league in 2021, Waddle ranks 15th in receiving yards and 10th in yards per reception. His seven receptions of 50 or more yards are tied for eighth in that same period. Miami will also look for Malik Washington, selected in the sixth round of the 2024 draft, to play a more significant role in the passing game, as well as tight end Darren Waller, who caught two touchdown passes in his debut last week. McDaniel said Waller is unlikely to have a full workload after playing 16 of Miami’s 58 offensive plays in Week 4, but he has “earned” more plays against the Panthers. The Dolphins coach also said he doesn’t expect to overcompensate for Hill’s absence. “I think we have a lot of capable football players that I have a lot of confidence in,” he said. “I think when you lose players of that magnitude, it’s never done with just one human being. It’s the execution of the group in general at all positions that makes the difference. And I have a lot of motivated football players. Where there is adversity, there is opportunity, I think that’s our speed.”“We never look at it as Receiver 1, or 1A-1B,” Waddle said on Thursday. “I think that’s more like something from the media or something for the media to talk about. We all go out there, make plays, and just try to help our team win. It’s not a Receiver 1, Receiver 2, that type of thing. It’s about being able to go out there and contribute and help your team get a ‘W'”.
Jaylen Waddle
