An ankle injury will become one of the first things to stop Tyreek Hill all season.
The Dolphins' star wideout is officially inactive for Miami's AFC East tilt against the New York Jets after sitting out of practice all week.
Miami will at least have the speedy services of running back De’Von Achane, who is active despite a toe injury, but Hill is the true engine behind the mighty Miami offense.
Hill sustained the injury in a shocking Week 14 loss to the Titans that included an operation gone stagnant after he became limited, playing just 34 snaps (fourth among Dolphins wideouts).
With Miami looking for its first AFC East title since 2008 and with the AFC's top seed still in sight -- plus a shot at a 2,000-yard receiving season -- Hill's absence is coming at a critical time.
He has far and away been Tua Tagovailoa's favorite target this season and leads the offense across the board with 132 targets, 97 receptions, 1,542 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Jaylen Waddle trails behind Hill in second in all of those categories with 822 yards and three scores on 63 catches, and apart from his 91 targets, no other pass catcher has seen more than 30 -- over 100 fewer than Hill.
On an individual level, Hill entered Week 15 on pace to lead the league and become the first player to surpass 2,000 receiving yards in a season, but missing a game now makes the record unlikely. His 118.6 yards-per-game mark would've put him at 2,016 had he played all four weeks remaining. By missing at least one, he'll have over 100 yards to make up.
Team-wise, his presence is also desperately needed against second-ranked Jets passing defense that is fresh off putting the clamps on the Houston Texans' shorthanded aerial attack.
Down Hill, Miami could be looking at similar prospects should Waddle and others, such as Braxton Berrios, Ced Wilson and River Cracraft, prove unable to rise to the occasion.
That test awaits when the Dolphins (9-4) and Jets (5-8) kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
