Dolphins Locker Room Casts Aside Tyreek Hill As Mike McDaniel Announces Decision on WR

The Miami Dolphins are stepping into 2025 with a very different kind of leadership group. Terron Armstead retired, Calais Campbell went back to Arizona, and Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even linebacker David Long Jr.—who was also voted as a captain—was cut midseason.

And just when it seemed things couldn’t spiral further, Tyreek Hill stood in front of reporters at OTAs in May and admitted he didn’t feel he deserved to be captain. “I’ve got to prove myself,” Hill said. “This OTAs, training camp, I’ve got to prove myself. I’ve got to show up different. The mindset has got to be different. I don’t feel like I deserve it, and if I didn’t get it, I wouldn’t dwell on it. I wouldn’t sweat it because I put myself in that position.” After three straight years wearing the badge in Miami, Hill said he’d have to earn his teammates’ trust all over again, and now Mike McDaniel has made it official: Hill won’t be a Dolphins captain this season.

Instead, Tua Tagovailoa, Aaron Brewer, Alec Ingold, Zach Sieler, Jordyn Brooks, and Bradley Chubb will carry the responsibility. All hand-picked to fill the void Hill has left behind. With a lingering wrist and oblique injury keeping him sidelined through camp—and possibly until Week 1 against the Colts—Hill has become the Dolphins’ biggest concern. The absence has been glaring. Miami’s offense is built on the speed and space created by Hill and Jaylen Waddle. And without him, the camp has leaned heavily on Malik Washington and Tahj Washington. Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald even noted that Malik Washington could emerge as a key third-down weapon for Tagovailoa.

Darren Waller’s removal from the PUP list adds valuable depth, but Hill’s unique ability to stretch defenses has no substitute. At 30, with thousands of career snaps logged, skipping camp reps may be a smart trade if it means being ready to explode out of the gates in September. Still, chemistry has been an issue. Tagovailoa himself admitted his timing with Hill needs polishing, and missing these practices hasn’t helped. Yet Hill’s nine seasons of elite production speak loudly enough. Even in 2024—his first year under 100 catches since 2020—he still led the team with 123 targets despite Tagovailoa missing time and Miami cycling through Tyler Huntley, Skylar Thompson, and Tim Boyle.

Fighting through pain has always been part of Hill’s story. In 2023, he played on a bum ankle deep into December. Back in 2019, it was a shoulder. Hamstrings, quads, tweaks—Hill has carried them all and still lined up on Sundays. His recovery speed and pain tolerance have made him one of the league’s most durable game-breakers, even if he’s rarely at 100%. The same can’t be said for the rest of the roster, which looks far more fragile.

Mike McDaniel is facing a tough call in Miami outside of Tyreek Hill

Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins currently look like a team carrying more baggage than momentum. Jason Sanders, Miami’s trusted leg since 2018, landed on the injured list with a hip issue. No surgery, but no Sundays for at least a month either. For a team already fighting to steady itself, losing one of the league’s most reliable kickers is a shift in game-day math.

McDaniel didn’t wait around. He went outside the building and grabbed Riley Patterson. A kicker whose career has been a carousel of stops, starts, and second chances. He’s worn jerseys in Detroit, Jacksonville, Cleveland, and even the Jets for a blink. His resume? Highlight clips, a walk-off playoff winner with the Jaguars in 2023, and just enough inconsistency to keep him on the move. Seven teams in four years.

That’s the bet. Patterson isn’t here to be Sanders for the next decade. He’s here to survive September. To give McDaniel the confidence to call a normal game without wondering if three points are three points. The Dolphins passed on veterans like Zane Gonzalez, Eddy Pineiro, and Greg Zuerlein, choosing the 25-year-old who’s already drilled from 53 yards and shown he won’t flinch when it counts.

Still, it’s a gamble. Losing Sanders stings, no doubt. But if Patterson holds steady until the vet comes back, the Dolphins can keep their eyes on something bigger. The real question in Miami is whether Tyreek Hill and this group can finally deliver when it matters most.