The Miami Dolphins have released speedy wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The veteran missed most of the 2025 season after suffering a torn ACL in Week 4, and now the San Francisco 49ers are seen as a potential landing spot.
While this makes sense on some level since the Niners certainly need some more speed on offense and could lose several wide receivers in free agency, there are some obvious drawbacks to signing Hill.
He is going to be 32 years old soon and is coming off a major injury that will have him miss the first quarter of the 2026 season at least. Plus, he was already on the decline even before the injury, so that is a lot of risk even with a player like Hill.
He is a long way from his heyday years with the Kansas City Chiefs when he was the nemesis of the Niners in that first Super Bowl matchup between the two teams in February of 2020. Hill made some back-breaking plays when the Niners had Kansas City on the ropes as San Francisco ultimately blew that game.
This is not the first time the Niners have been tied to Hill, though.
Last summer, there were some trade rumors linking Hill and the 49ers, but obviously, nothing came to fruition.
The Niners could certainly use some speed on offense, though. With Brandon Aiyuk choosing to sit out much of the season and Ricky Pearsall dealing with injuries throughout the year, the Niners were not able to take a lot of big shots down the field.
That's never really been a huge part of head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, but airing it out every now and then at least keeps the opposing defense honest. And hey, you just might connect on one every so often.
It's questionable whether Hill will still have his usual burst and speed, though. If the 49ers knew for sure they would be getting vintage Hill even if it was just for three quarters of the season, they would probably still sign up for that at the right price. But with so many question marks, they would probably only entertain him at a discounted rate.
We also do not know what San Francisco's strategy will be this offseason. Last year, general manager John Lynch said the team would get younger and cheaper. That helped in some ways, but the Niners may have lacked the depth to weather all the injuries they sustained.
Maybe this offseason, they will be more aggressive, and Lynch will be willing to take a risk on someone like Hill.
The question is whether that risk is truly worth it when there will be more proven options available.