Five-time First-team All-Pro Tyreek Hill could be poised to re-join the Kansas City Chiefs after the Miami Dolphins released him in a cost-cutting move before free agency
11:37 ET, 16 Feb 2026Updated 12:08 ET, 16 Feb 2026
Tyreek Hill
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Tyreek Hill spent four seasons with the Dolphins(Image: Getty Images)
The Miami Dolphins are releasing veteran receiver Tyreek Hill with a year left on his contract. The move will save the franchise $22 million in cap relief, an important figure ahead of free agency in March.
Hill played only three games in 2026 after suffering a season-ending knee injury against the New York Jets in Week 3. The 31-year-old is a five-time First-team All-Pro and was voted the league's top player in the NFL 100 as recently as the start of the 2024 season.
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He'll have no shortage of suitors in free agency, though he's long teased on his X account that he may be interested in a return to the Kansas City Chiefs, the franchise that drafted him in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
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Hill helped Kansas City win Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers, a game where his long fourth-quarter reception — thrown by Patrick Mahomes — helped kickstart a comeback.
The eight-time Pro Bowler was shipped to Miami in the 2022 offseason after Kansas City refused to meet his salary demands. The Dolphins swiftly handed Hill a four-year, $120 million record-breaking extension.
Tyreek Hill
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Hill was carted off the field after his knee injury against the Jets(Image: Getty Images)
He reached the playoffs twice in Miami and led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,799 in 2023. Still, Hill's new team was never a serious contender, and he remained active on social media talking about the Chiefs.
“I need to go home,” he tweeted on Black Friday, prompting fans to think he was referencing his time with his old team. When Eric Bienemy was announced as Kansas City's new offensive coordinator — he was Hill's OC with the team from 2018 to 2021 — he tweeted: "EB to the Chiefs him."
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At the end of the 2024 season, Hill wasn't coy about his offseason ambitions. “I’m out, bruh. It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, I have to do what’s best for my career,” he told reporters. He ended up apologizing to then-cach Mike McDaniel and returned in 2025.
Kansas City could certainly use talent in its receiver room. Veteran tight end Travis Kelce appears to be headed toward retirement, while X-receiver Rashee Rice continues to struggle with injuries and legal issues.
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Hill's release comes as part of a frantic fire-sale in Miami: fellow starters DE Bradley Chubb and OG James Daniels as the Dolphins look to lower their dire financial situation.
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Next step? Potentially moving on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his eyewater contract worth over $50 million a year.