Dolphins speedster Tyreek Hill has been listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Jets, but All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner expects to see the NFL leader in receiving yardage lined up across from him in Miami.
Hill, who hasn’t practiced this week due to an ankle injury sustained in Monday’s loss to the Titans, already has 97 receptions for 1,542 yards with 12 touchdowns through 13 games.
With a 17-game schedule, he could break Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 receiving yards (2012) and become the first player in league history to surpass the 2,000-yard barrier.
“I think he’ll end up playing. He’s close to a milestone, 2,000 yards, so I feel like he’ll want every opportunity to be able to make that happen. So we’re banking on him to play,” Gardner said Friday. “I don’t like seeing people get injured. If somebody’s not going to play, I don’t want it to be because of an injury. I’m a competitor, [Jets cornerback] D.J. [Reed] is a competitor, and we love to compete, and I know [Hill] is, as well.”
Gardner added that Hill’s speed “makes him who he is … and that’s definitely a huge component when it comes to lining up against him and that’s what we get paid to do.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said if Hill “is confident he can be himself and I have the support of the trainers, he will play. If it’s not, he won’t.”
The 29-year-old Hill signed a four-year deal worth $120 million with the Dolphins in 2022 following a trade from the Chiefs.
“Tyreek, obviously, it’s why he gets paid so much, right? He completely alters game plans when he’s on the field,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “You always talk about who you give money to in this league. You give money to guys who change games, and he changes games.”
Rookie defensive lineman Will McDonald IV was added to the injury report as questionable with a knee issue.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (Achilles surgery) and wide receiver Jason Brownlee (ankle) officially have been ruled out, and offensive lineman Carter Warren (hip) is doubtful.
Offensive lineman Max Mitchell (neck) is questionable and “50-50, at best,” Saleh said.
Running back Nick Bawden (knee), defensive end John Franklin-Myers (ankle) and center Joe Tippmann (shoulder) also are questionable.