Tyreek Hill is ready to turn the page and begin a new chapter with the Miami Dolphins.
Hill’s 2024 season began with him being detained by police outside Hard Rock Stadium and ended with him ready to move on. But that trade never came and Hill is back in the fold for the upcoming season.
He has some fences to mend in advance of training camp.
The receiver is now singing a different tune at organized team activities (OTAs), saying on Wednesday that he needs to prove himself again as a receiver and a teammate.
‘That’s every day in this league,’ Hill told reporters, via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. ‘Every day, you’ve got to prove who you are, and it doesn’t matter how much you’ve earned or how much success you’ve had in this league. It’s always the next day mentality. That’s something that my grandparents raised me by and that’s something Mike (McDaniel) preaches here in this locker room.
‘Every day, I’m trying to prove myself as one of those guys that this team can depend on in crucial moments. I’m (going to) stand on that, too, though, just me as a person, as a player, as an individual. I try to carry myself in that way.’
Hill missed the playoffs for the first time in his nine-year career last season, which seemed to be a major source of frustration following a Week 18 loss to the New York Jets.
‘It was tough. Obviously, emotions were high then,’ Hill said. ‘At the end of the day, man, I’m just looking to move forward from that, hoping that I can prove to myself and prove to my teammates that I’m still one of them ones, man, who likes chasing 2K (receiving yards), still one of those ones chasing playoff dreams and all that great stuff.’
‘For one, … I’m going to church more and doing more therapy more,’ Hill said. ‘I’ve been finding that more of my side lately, just being more involved in that. Then, just understanding what coach is trying to do. I feel like when I first got here, I wouldn’t say that I wasn’t all the way bought in, but me having a better understanding of what he’s trying to push throughout the locker room, I feel like now I understand him better. I understand Tua (Tagovailoa) better, I understand Bev (offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell). Our new receiver coach (Robert Prince), me and him clicked immediately when he got here.
‘Everybody’s on the same page, man.’
When asked about his desire to be a team captain, Hill responded by saying he doesn’t deserve it.
‘I gotta prove myself,’ Hill said, via the Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly. ‘This OTAs, training camp, I gotta prove myself. I gotta show up different. The mindset gotta be different. I don’t feel like I deserve it, and if I didn’t get it, I wouldn’t dwell on it. I wouldn’t sweat it because I put myself in that position.’
A five-time All-Pro, Hill failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for just the third time in his career last season. His third year in Miami proved to be the worst after two 1,700-yard seasons following his arrival.
Hill battled a wrist injury all season long and dealt with the floundering Dolphins’ offense, which struggled to find the magic from years prior – dropping from the second-best scoring offense in 2023 to 22nd-ranked in 2024.
Fresh off surgery to repair that nagging injury, the 31-year-old will work to regain his form in 2025, in the hopes that Miami does, too.
If nothing else, this season is already off to a better start.