The Dolphins picked up their first win on Monday over the New York Jets. In Week 5, the team travels to Carolina in search of the first road win of the 2025 season. To do so, they'll have to replace the production of wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who is out for the season following a knee injury in the third quarter of Monday's game.
Throughout the week, staff and players talked about running the offense without Hill. It will be a collective effort for the Miami offense and an opportunity for everyone to respond to adversity:
Head Coach Mike McDaniel on how the offense will move forward without Hill - "The nature of this offseason in particular kind of forced our hand with working forward without (Hill). There's a lot of guys that contribute on the team. You don't just copy-paste or say, 'hey, it's one human being.' It's not that. It's a combination of various individuals, not just in the receiver room, that I think need to continue to develop and now have a heightened sense of urgency so that we can spread the ball around and make up for his production."
Offense Coordinator Frank Smith on how different the offense will look without Hill - "We're going to have different ways to attack the defense using everyone's skillsets in different ways. With 'Reek,' it allows you to really stretch the field vertically and put the stress on the defense down the field because his ball skills down the field are about as good as they've been in the last decade. I think it just gives us different areas of what routes do guys run well and timing so just featuring guys to do what they do well and also with how it fits in the offense. I think it's going to be a challenge for everyone involved and I think we're really excited for the opportunity to show how we're going to respond to losing such a great player like Tyreek."
Tight End Darren Waller on the collective effort to make up for Hill's absence – "I think it's more opportunities for everybody. You're talking about a guy that's one of the most unique players we've ever seen, so I don't think one person can come close to replacing what he does. I think it's a whole unit, a lot of guys are going to have to chip in. That's what I think is beautiful about this game and the next man up opportunities. I think it's going to take all of us."
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on wide receiver Jaylen Waddle - "My first three years with (Jaylen Waddle), the first time he came to the league, he's been able to have 1,000-yard years those first two years in the league for him. So it's one of those where we get right back into that. Jaylen understands the offense a lot better than he did the first year Mike (McDaniel) came here, so I trust that he's going to be here where he needs to be. We've built that chemistry from Alabama all the way until now, but Jaylen knows that doesn't give way to me just always looking for him as the target."
Cornerbacks Coach Mathieu Arujo on wide receiver Jaylen Waddle – "He has every level of separation possible. Line of scrimmage, break area, fade area. On the line of scrimmage, his hip shift, our whole goal is to not kick open and turn and run as long as we can. Essentially, we're trying to stay in front of you as long as we can. He does an amazing job of forcing you to feel like, oh, I've got to turn and run. He gets guys off their spot. That's how, for us, we were able to get so efficient at playing on the line of scrimmage because you're playing against that every day. He can win there and create separation off the line. Then when he's in the break area he does a great job of dropping his weight, getting in and out of breaks, gets his eyes around and high points the football. Then, downfield, he's got patience, late hands, separation. He has every facet that you want a receiver to have.
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