Dolphins teammates leave Tyreek Hill off player-elected leadership group
Miami players selected Tua Tagovailoa and five teammates as captains; Hill, a captain from 2022–24, was not included
The Miami Dolphins’ player-elected leadership group does not include wide receiver Tyreek Hill, the team announced Monday, signaling a change in the locker-room hierarchy after Hill had served as a captain from 2022 through 2024.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and five teammates — Aaron Brewer, Alec Ingold, Jordyn Brooks, Zach Sieler and Bradley Chubb — were voted into the team’s leadership group by their peers. Brooks and Chubb will serve as first-year team captains. Coach Mike McDaniel said the vote reflected a clear consensus among players.
"I’m really excited about the whole voting process in general this year," McDaniel told reporters. "This team was much more unified, and the focus on those six guys was very clear — those were resounding vote-getters. We were focused on giving the keys to captaincy to guys that had earned it each and every day. That’s what speaks to me the most is a football team that knows who it wants to be led by."
Hill, who played 17 games last season, finished with 959 receiving yards and six touchdowns, his lowest totals in a full season since his rookie year. He was not listed among the players the team announced as captains and was not present when the leadership group was revealed.
The vote is one of several ways NFL teams establish internal leadership; selections are determined by player ballots rather than solely by coaches. McDaniel characterized the process as player-driven and praised the clarity of the results.
The change follows a season in which Hill’s production declined from his previous years with the Dolphins. Team officials and coaches have said they expect leaders to set an example on and off the field, and the selection of the six players reflects the group teammates chose to carry that responsibility into the coming season.
The Dolphins enter the season with attention on both on-field performance and locker-room dynamics as Miami seeks continuity under McDaniel’s staff. The newly announced captains will be responsible for representing the team in coin tosses and other official duties, and coaches often look to those players to help maintain standards and accountability across the roster.
Officials did not offer further comment about Hill’s exclusion from the leadership group. The team will open its regular-season preparations in the coming weeks, when coaching staff and players normally clarify roles and responsibilities ahead of Miami’s first game.