MIAMI GARDENS — This was like the first day of school. No, check that. The first day of school comes Wednesday. This was simply reporting day for the Miami Dolphins, a day for everyone to figure out where their lockers are, work up a sweat, and brace themselves for the grind that is training camp.
A fresh start?
Tyreek Hill certainly hopes so.
In an unexpected meeting with reporters, Hill opened up in unexpected ways – namely by volunteering that as good as he has been in his previous nine NFL seasons, never once has he been as good as he could have been.
Before we go any further, we must pump the brakes. Because this is Tyreek Hill. A guy who has said many of the right things in the past and done plenty of the wrong things in the past. Wasn’t he the guy last seen with one foot out the door?
But here he was now, challenging everybody to hold him as accountable as he’s allegedly holding himself. And since this is the opening of training camp, talk is about all he can offer.
“I feel like I really haven’t been giving the best version of me, of Tyreek, my whole entire career,” said a man who has been named to eight Pro Bowls.
Hill talked about wanting to be a leader on this team and a role model in the community. To that end, he talked about focusing only on football. It was about this time that you wanted to say, “But, but, that Noah Lyles fascination?” But much like he is on the field, Hill wasn’t about to slow down.
“I want to see what that version of myself looks like,” Hill said. “So I’m looking forward to it. Today was our conditioning test. And at 31 years old, I must say I haven’t lost a step. So I’m feeling great.”
Tyreek Hill: Everything I do is on YouTube
The Dolphins will feel great if Hill can avoid scrapes with the law, both at home and on the roads. They’ll take it if he’s 180 degrees from the guy who checked out of the 2024 season finale, then doubled down on it in the locker room afterward.
“Everything I do (is) on YouTube,” he said, adding that he’s tired of his kids — glued to YouTube as kids are — constantly seeing the clip of him checking out.
“I don’t want to put that out there for my boys to see,” he said.
(The hammer the organization has over him is that his cap number balloons to an intolerable $52 million in 2026, meaning something’s got to give.)
It was about this time that Hill introduced a humorous twist to the conversation, pointing out how his sons’ favorite receiver is Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson. One even tried to get a rise out of Dad by saying Jefferson is his father.
“So I got him on FaceTime,” Hill said. “I’m like, ‘So Justin Jefferson is your dad?’ He was like, ‘Nah, Dad.’ I was like, ‘Well, tell Justin Jefferson to take you to Disney World.’ ”
Two seasons ago, Hill flirted with becoming the first receiver with a 2,000-yard season, settling for 1,799. That earned him the No. 1 ranking in a poll of peers entering last season, before his numbers dwindled to 959 yards in a season plagued by injuries and off-field drama. Hill still has sights on hitting 2,000 but says it’s secondary to making sure this team wins, including in January.
“Ever since me and my family got here, this fan base has been special to us, showing up to different engagements,” he said. “Whenever we meet people in the community, they’ve been great. So as a leader of this team and also as a leader of this community, I just need to be better in that sense. And then just know that there are a ton of little kids that look up to me as a player, as a role model. So I just gotta remind myself of that. You know what I’m saying?”
We know. We just hope he knows. And that his words today are – finally – a turning point.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill: I’ve never shown best version of me; will it come in 2025?
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
