Tyreek Hill appeared mighty frustrated during the Miami Dolphins’ loss to the Tennessee Titans on Monday night but he asserted Wednesday that he remains highly committed to staying in South Florida.
Unfounded speculation arose about Hill’s future and the star receiver was stunned Wednesday to hear trade rumors involving him were being tossed around.
Hill made it clear that he is happy with the Dolphins, who have started 1-3 and are averaging an NFL-low 11.3 points per game.
“I’m just focused on right here and right now,” Hill told reporters. “We’ve got a beautiful team here and I want to be a part of it. We’ve got a great situation here, my family loves it, I enjoy it, the weather’s great, the fans are great. So, we’ve got a beautiful situation here, man … We all know the NFL is a business. Whatever happens, happens.
“Moving forward, I would love to be here — I love being here.”
The Miami offense has been hampered since losing standout quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a concussion in Week 2 and his return remains uncertain.
In Monday’s 31-12 home loss to the previously winless Titans, Hill caught four passes for just 23 yards, and Miami had just 184 yards as a team.
In Week 1 with Tagovailoa, Hill caught seven passes for 130 yards and one touchdown. In the ensuing three games, he has 10 receptions for 87 yards and no scores.
The dropoff came with Skylar Thompson as the starter in Week 3 and recently signed Tyler Huntley running the show in Game 4.
Hill was seething at the turn of events in the second half on Monday, but coach Mike McDaniel said any competitive-nature frustration is fine with him.
“I would expect him to be visibly upset at somebody,” McDaniel said. “He’s a leader and he wanted to do everything that he could to make sure the result wasn’t that. Within the locker room there’s a lot of guys challenging each other, and we get an opportunity to see what we’re made of, for sure.”
The Dolphins did a three-year, $90 million restructuring to Hill’s contract in early August. His first two seasons for the Dolphins were top-notch: a career-best 119 catches in both seasons, 1,710 receiving yards in 2022 and a league-best 1,799 last season, and a combined 20 touchdown receptions.
Hill is an eight-time Pro Bowler — beginning with six straight berths with the Kansas City Chiefs before being traded to the Dolphins after the 2021 season.
Hill is forecasting an improved offensive showing on Sunday against the host New England Patriots. Huntley will be back behind center for his second start for the team.
“Snoop is awesome,” Hill told reporters, referring to Huntley by his nickname. “For him to be here for (two) weeks and for him to be prepared the way he was prepared for that Monday night game, in my book that’s trending upwards. Because our offense is so complicated and there’s so many motions and words in the play call, and for him to get all that down in a week or so, it’s tremendous.
“I can tell already by him stepping into the huddle, he’s already confident. He’s reading the play call, not even looking at it, so he’s ready to roll, man.”
Huntley completed 14 of 22 passes for 96 yards and also rushed for 40 yards and a score against Tennessee.
Huntley’s 1-yard scoring run with 3:36 left in the game ended the Dolphins’ dubious streak of 10 straight quarters without a touchdown.
–Field Level Media
