Was Tyreek Hill trolling again?
Caught up in the heat of the moment?
Actually serious?
Who knows with the Miami Dolphins wide receiver, who’s known to make outlandish statements and comments on a regular basis.
But what he came up with after the Dolphins’ 32-20 loss against the New York Jets in their season finale on the day they were eliminated from playoff contention by Denver’s victory against Kansas City clearly was a doozy.
Five months after signing a restructured contract with the Dolphins and repeating a few times throughout the offseason he wanted to finish his career in Miami, Hill basically said he wanted out after finishing his third season with the team.
Asked what the team captains could say in the offseason to get the team over the hump, Hill came up with this headline-making statement.
“I don’t even know, bro,” Hill said. “This is my first time I haven’t been in the playoffs. I mean for me, like I said, man, I just gotta do what’s best for me and my family, dawg. If that’s here, or wherever the case may be, man, I’m going to open the door for myself, dawg. I’m opening the door. Like, I’m out, man. You know, so, it was great playing here, but, you know, at the end of the day, bro, I gotta do what’s best for, you know, for my career, and you know, what’s best … because I’m too much of a competitor to be, you know, just out there.”
What happened to loving Miami and wanting to finish his career with the Dolphins?
Head coach Mike McDaniel, not surprisingly, didn’t have much to say about Hill’s postgame comments.
“In regard to things that are stated, I guess it would be second-hand for me, I hadn’t heard that,” McDaniel said. “But just in general, emotions are high, especially after a game like that. But there will be conversations that will be direct in the next couple days, which is kind of the process of the end-of-season meetings. And obviously there’s a lot of power in having a team that wants to play together and go for a common goal. So that’s inherent. But I’m not going to put-too much weight on second-hand postgame disappointment statements, and we’ll see how the next couple days progress with those conversations with him.”
Because Hill’s comments about wanting out weren’t strange enough, coming out of nowhere as they did, there also was the issue of him not playing in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins were trying to mount a comeback even though their playoff hopes basically were done by then, given Denver’s huge lead over the Chiefs.
Even that was strange because Hill said “Coach pulled me out,” while McDaniel said he was told that Hill was unavailable.
“I was not informed that it was a new injury,” McDaniel said. “At that point in time, my focus was on the players, and I didn’t take the time to go try to figure out more into that. There were guys on the field that were competing and we were trying to win a game. So my focus was there. Again, I was just informed he wasn’t available and I didn’t really have the time to dig more into that. And we’ll see what comes of that after watching the tape and talking to coaches and the training staff. It was discussed by the coaching staff on on the headset, and the play clock was running, so I moved on and called plays for people that were out there. “
Yes, it’s weird.
The whole thing is weird.
Then again, it’s not like it’s the first time strange things have happened with Hill.
In this particular case, we can’t help but feel that Hill was talking out of frustration.
After all, this was his first season without reaching 1,000 yards in a full season since his rookie year. As he said, it’s the first time his team hasn’t made the playoffs since he entered the NFL in 2016. And, barring making the team as an alternate, it also will be the first time in his career he’s not a Pro Bowl player.
Oh, and then there was the well-publicized incident before the opener at Hard Rock Stadium and then various injuries he had to play through this season.
So, yeah, it’s entirely possible he’ll feel differently in a day or two.
He did, however, make it a point to thank Dolphins fans later Sunday night.
Love fin nation blessing yall opened doors for the Hill family forever nothing ,but respect and love
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) January 6, 2025
If Hill is adamant about being done in Miami, should the Dolphins grant him his wish and send him out of town?
How would that affect an offense built around speed, an offense he took to another level the previous two seasons before things went sideways in 2024?
More importantly, what could the Dolphins get as compensation for a wide receiver who’ll be 31 in March, who has dealt with injuries the past three seasons and who — let’s be frank — can be a headache for an organization with all the distractions he brings?
There’s clearly something to be said for not keeping a player who doesn’t want to be around, but any deal would have to make sense for the Dolphins.
Let’s face it, simply dumping Hill does not make the Dolphins a better team. And it will come at a cost of almost $13 million in dead cap space if it’s a post-June transaction.
This can’t be said enough. Hill is a volatile guy, that’s no big secret, and him lashing out like that after being held to two catches for 20 yards to close out what for him was a really down season almost wasn’t surprising.
Was it a case of Tyreek being Tyreek?
Who knows at this point, but he just provided a major storyline to start off the offseason.
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