When news broke Monday that wide receiver Tyreek Hill was being released by the Dolphins, WEEI’s Jon Lyons took to our airwaves on Jones and Keefe to explain why he believes the six-time All-Pro would not be a good fit in New England.
“Maybe they have the conversation, but I wouldn't do it,” said Lyons. “I think there's better options. I'd much rather throw a lot more money at Alec Pierce, or try to trade for a guy, or try to draft someone in the first round. Again, this a guy in Tyreek Hill who turns 32 in a couple weeks. He's coming off a major injury. He's had off the field, in-locker room problems pretty much everywhere he's been.
“And it was a bad situation in Miami with Mike McDaniel and Tua [Tagovailoa] and all that, but his production early in the season last year wasn't quite the same as it had been the previous couple of years. The Patriots just got really lucky with Stefon Diggs, and everything worked out with him up until December when that police report came out. But then he still played and got to the Super Bowl. Do we think they're going to get lucky again for a whole year with Tyreek Hill on top of it? I think that's playing with fire a little bit too well.”
On Tuesday, WEEI’s Chris Scheim used his lead on The Greg Hill Show to explain why he feels the exact opposite of Lyons.
“I think the Patriots should go out and acquire Tyreek Hill,” said Scheim. “He's not necessarily the easiest guy to root for, I recognize that. But at the same time, when you're talking about improving your roster in an appropriate way, I think by signing Tyreek Hill - which is all you have to do, you don't have to give up draft compensation or anything like that, all you have to do is pay actual cash - it makes it very easy for you to pay a guy coming off a major knee injury.
“Just like you did with Steph Diggs - a kind of easy, somewhat cheaper, but easy-to-get-out-of contract, because Lord knows how he's actually going to come back from the injury. And he excels at running down the field, which is exactly what Drake Maye needs, because [he’s] the best deep ball passer in the league.”
“Your quarterback excels when it comes to the deep ball, so marriage made in heaven, perhaps?” said WEEI’s Greg Hill.
“Bingo,” said Scheim. “And then on top of that - by signing a receiver, which is something you need, it allows you to utilize the trade capital you have, the draft capital you have, if you would want to go out and, I don't know, acquire a pass rusher, which might help your team as well, and then still not be bereft of draft picks.”
“So you're able to kind of do all three things you want - bring in younger, cheaper players to add depth to the roster, bring in a legitimate, possible No. 1 receiver, and a legitimate pass rusher all in one offseason. And it's not going to absolutely break the bank.”
Does the potential acquisition of Hill mean Stefon Diggs’ time in New England is done after only one season?
Scheim doesn’t think so.
“Re-work his contract, so it's a little bit different,” said Scheim. “He gets more guaranteed money, it's less on the cap penalty for him, and then boom goes the dynamite.”
Hill only managed to play in 4 games during his age 31 season after dislocating his knee in Week 4 against the Jets. An injury-plagued season in 2025 comes one year after a 2024 season that saw a massive regression from the one-time Super Bowl champion - going from a league-leading 1,799 receiving yards in 2023 to 959 in 2024.
Add in the fact that Hill is constantly dealing with off the field issues - truly too many to list off - and Miami’s release of the eight-time Pro Bowler should come as no surprise to anyone who has paid attention to his obvious decline the last two years in South Beach.
Those off the field transgressions alone are enough to have Patriots fans and media alike saying “thanks but no thanks” when it comes to the idea of adding Hill to the mix at 1 Patriot Place.
Scheim believes having Mike Vrabel at the helm mitigates that risk enough to take a flyer on the speedster.
“Mike Vrabel is a culture guy,” said Scheim. “That's kind of what he prides himself on, I think. And you can tell the way he treats every player in that locker room. And so if he feels like after meeting with Tyreek Hill that he can bring him in and have no issues, I trust Mike Vrabel.”
Hill’s free agency is just the latest in a long line of receivers that Patriots fans have immediately taken to the internet to discuss whether or not the team should pursue them. This has been the case for, essentially, every big name receiver who has become available either on the trade market or in free agency in the last 20 years. From the Larry Fitzgerald non-photo at Logan Airport to the Brandon Aiyuk pursuit in 2024, New England is always seemingly connected to any and all wide receiver rumors across the league.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ offseason.