Sauce Gardner, Jets Plan To Play Against Injured Tyreek Hill

Tyreek Hill is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game in Miami. But Sauce Gardner and the New York Jets are "banking on him" to play.

The Miami Dolphins All-Pro wide receiver hasn't practiced this week after suffering an ankle injury in Monday's crushing loss to the Tennessee Titans. Hill has 97 receptions for 1,542 yards with 12 touchdowns through 13 games.

He's currently on pace to become the first player in NFL history to rack up 2,000 receiving yards in a single season. Calvin Johnson has the current record with 1,964 yards in 2012.

Bum ankle or not, Gardner doesn't think Hill will let that opportunity pass.

"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," the Jets cornerback 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, D.J. [Reed] is a competitor, and we love to compete, and I know is, as well."

Tyreek Hill might be a game time decision.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is leaving Hill's status up to the NFL's leader in receiving yards and his training staff.

"It's his career," McDaniel said Friday. "When we talk, this is what will happen. ... If he's confident he can be himself and I have the support of the trainers, he will play. If it's not, he won't."

(Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

Despite injuring his ankle in the first quarter of Monday's game, Hill still returned to play 47 percent of offensive snaps.

"When it happened, like my first reaction was like, man, my ankle is gone. My adrenaline kicked in, I ran off the field, then I sat for a while and it got stiff and I was going through a lot of pain," the seven-time Pro Bowler said.

"Then I just made up in my mind. I came in at halftime, I texted my wife, I was like, 'This sh-t hurt. I need an ankle massage tonight.' And she's like, 'You'd better get your ass back in that game, dawg.' I was like, 'All right.'"

(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

It's unclear whether his wife, Keeta Vaccaro Hill, will give him that same pep talk ahead of Sunday's game against the Jets, who are looking for revenge after Miami embarrassed them 34-13 on Black Friday.

But as much as he'd love to get the receiving record, the Dolphins' playoff positioning is more important.

Following Sunday's game, the Dolphins have to run the proverbial gauntlet to finish out the regular season. We're talking Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills — in that order.

Not to discount Sauce and the 5-8 Jets, but if Tyreek Hill must sit on the bench for a game, this is the one to do it.

Follow Amber on X at @TheAmberHarding or email her at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.