Oct. 3—Tyreke Hill looked disappointed after the Miami Dolphins lost to the Tennessee Titans on Monday night, but he said Wednesday that he is fully committed to staying in South Florida.
There has been unfounded speculation about Hill’s future, and the star receiver was surprised to hear trade rumors about him on Wednesday.
Hill made it clear 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 the here and now,” Hill told reporters. “We have a great team here and I want to be a part of it. We have a good situation here, my family likes it, I enjoy it, the weather is great and the fans are great. So, we’re in a good situation. That’s the situation, man … We all know the NFL is a business and whatever happens, happens.
“Going forward, I would love to stay here — I love living here.”
Miami’s offense has been hampered since star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was injured in Week 2 and his return remains uncertain.
In Monday’s 31-12 loss to the Titans at home, Hill caught four passes for just 23 yards, and Miami had just 184 receiving yards.
In Tagovailoa’s first week, Hill caught seven passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. Over the next three games, he caught 10 passes for 87 yards and no scores.
Skylar Thompson started in Week 3 and Tyler Huntley most recently started in Game 4.
Hill was upset by the second-half developments Monday, but coach Mike McDaniels said any competitive setback is acceptable to him.
“I expected him to be angry at somebody, obviously,” McDaniel said. “He’s a leader and he wants to do anything he can to make sure that doesn’t result in that. There’s a lot of guys in the locker room challenging each other and we get a chance to see how good we are. Period.”
In early August, the Dolphins restructured Hill’s contract into a three-year, $90 million deal. His first two seasons with the Dolphins have been spectacular: a career-high 119 receptions in both seasons, 1,710 receiving yards in 2022 and a league-high 1,799 total receptions and 20 touchdowns last season.
Hill was an eight-time Pro Bowler who started with six consecutive selections with the Kansas City Chiefs before being traded to the Dolphins after the 2021 season.
Hill hopes to lead the offense Sunday against the host New England Patriots. Huntley will return behind center for his second start with the team.
“Snoopy is amazing,” Hill told reporters, calling Huntley by his nickname. “For him to come here (two weeks) and prepare like he did Monday night, in my opinion, it’s an upward trend. Because our offense is very complex and there are a lot of moves and words in the game. And for us, it’s an upward trend.”
“As soon as I went into the huddle, I knew he was confident. He was reading the play calls, not even looking at them, so he was ready to play, man.”
Huntley completed 14 of 22 passes for 96 yards against Tennessee while also rushing for 40 yards and a score.
Huntley’s 1-yard run with 3:36 remaining ends the Dolphins’ dubious streak of 10 consecutive quarters without a touchdown.
——Visual-level media
