Hill returns to Dolphins' facility, speaks to team

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins players got a astonishment impermanent talker during Friday's gathering - wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Dolphins manager Mike McDaniel said Hill attending Friday's gathering 3 days aft undergoing season-ending country connected a dislocated near knee. Hill had been hospitalized since suffering the wounded successful Monday night's triumph implicit the New York Jets, but was capable to instrumentality to the installation to connection his teammates words of encouragement.

"Tyreek was successful the gathering today," McDaniel said. "He came into the squad gathering and made definite that the guys were continuing to enactment motivated to person complimentary shot with 11 players playing arsenic 1 successful 3 phases implicit the people of the game."

The Dolphins participate comparatively uncharted territory starting with this week's crippled against the Carolina Panthers. Since trading for Hill successful 2022, they've lone played 1 crippled without him - a 30-0 triumph implicit the Jets successful 2023.

Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who signed a three-year, $84.75 cardinal hold past May, steps into Hill's relation arsenic the team's pb receiver; however, McDaniel said Miami has ever seen Waddle arsenic a fig 1 receiver, and Waddle said the conception is much of a media instauration than an existent role.

"We ne'er look astatine it similar Receiver 1, oregon 1A-1B," Waddle said Thursday. "I deliberation that's much similar a media happening oregon thing that gives thing for the media to speech about. We each spell retired there, marque plays and conscionable effort to assistance our squad win. It's not a Receiver 1, Receiver 2, benignant of thing. It's being capable to spell retired determination lend and assistance your squad get a 'W.'"

Since entering the league successful 2021, Waddle ranks 15th successful receiving yards and 10th successful yards per catch. His 7 receptions of 50 oregon much yards are tied for 8th-most successful that aforesaid span.

Miami volition besides look to 2024 sixth-round prime Malik Washington successful an accrued relation successful the passing game, arsenic good arsenic choky extremity Darren Waller - who caught 2 touchdown passes successful his debut past week.

McDaniel said Waller inactive won't apt spot a afloat workload aft playing 16 of Miami's 58 violative snaps successful Week 4, but he's "earned" much snaps against the Panthers.

The Dolphins' manager besides said helium doesn't expect to overcompensate for Hill's absence. "I deliberation we person a batch of susceptible shot players that I'm precise assured in," helium said. "I deliberation erstwhile you suffer players of that magnitude, it's ne'er done with 1 quality being. It's the execution of the wide radical astatine each positions that marque up the difference. And I person a clump of motivated shot players. "Where there's adversity, there's accidental -- I deliberation that's benignant of our speed."