Tyreek Hill replied “lol another false narrative” Monday after a tweet indicated the wide receiver would be “OK if the Dolphins traded him to a playoff contender.”
Alas, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Hill isn’t going anywhere.
“I can certainly say with certainty that at this certain moment [Hill won’t be traded],” McDaniel said from the NFL’s annual meetings, via Isaiah Smalls of the Miami Herald. “We are fully planning to move forward for a better version of our relationship with Tyreek.”
Hill pulled himself out of the season-ending loss to the Jets when it became clear the Dolphins weren’t going to win. After the game, Hill said, “I’m out,” suggesting a trade request was coming.
A month later, after the dust had settled, Hill said he was speaking out of frustration and wanted to remain in Miami. The Dolphins apparently still want Hill, but with some changes, after meeting with the star player this offseason.
“I know what has been put on display during the regular season when we had a fully attacking Tyreek Hill in the offseason – being the pace car for all the sprints, all those things – and I full expect to get a better version of that horse that is the reason that he was voted captain,” McDaniel said. “That’s the been the biggest thing: There’s been a lot of work that we don’t publicize.”
Hill, 31, didn’t top 1,000 yards for the first time since 2019, and he failed to make the Pro Bowl for the first time in his nine-year career. Hill finished 2024 with 81 receptions for 959 yards and six touchdowns.
The Dolphins missed the playoffs in 2024 for the first time since head coach Mike McDaniel joined the team and that’s led to some conversation about his job security heading into his fourth season in Miami.
During a session with reporters from the league meetings in Palm Beach on Monday, McDaniel was asked about those discussions and said he is not altering his approach to the job because of any perceived uptick in scrutiny due to the team’s performance in 2024.
“If we won two more games does that make me a different coach?” McDaniel said, via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. “I think it’s important for me to do my job the right way. That I never look at any sort of entitlement. . . . Every year, to me, if you’re not feeling heat on the seat, you have the wrong urgency. It should be that way every year. This is not my gift. It’s an incredible responsibility that I only sign up for because I believe I’m the best person suited for.”
McDaniel called coaching security “the fastest changing world in sports” while noting that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was on a very hot seat at this time last year. That came after Sirianni had already taken the Eagles to a Super Bowl and McDaniel might need at least a playoff win in order to be back for Year Five.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has emphasized speed in building his offense, but new Dolphins running back Alexander Mattison says he was brought in to add some power.
Mattison said he talked to McDaniel when he signed with the Dolphins and knows he was brought in to add a physical element to what the Dolphins do.
“I was excited about coming over,” Mattison said. “It’s one of those things you look at. It’s an exciting offense. It’s an exciting team to be a part of. So, definitely is one of those things where I look at it and I see a lot of benefits for me being a part of this offense. And of course, you know, he told me to bring my big boy pads down to South Beach. So I understand, you know, I’m going to bring a different level of physicality. And that’s what’s expected of me and what I need to bring to the table. So, yeah, I’m excited about that part as well.”
The Dolphins have struggled in short-yardage running, and Mattison said he thinks that’s an area where he can help them improve.
“I do know that, you know, the physicality and me being a bigger bruiser type of back is something that was mentioned when we talked,” Mattison said. So yeah, definitely expect to be in a role of using my pads and using my physicality and bringing that little spark to the offense.”
Mattison spent last year in Las Vegas and averaged a career-low 3.2 yards per carry, but the Dolphins aren’t asking him to make big plays. They’re asking him to pick up the tough yards. And that’s something Mattison is confident he can do.
As he prepares for the 2025 NFL draft, LSU tight end Mason Taylor is getting plenty of advice from his father, Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor, and his uncle, five-time All-Pro linebacker Zach Thomas.
Taylor said at LSU’s Pro Day that his dad and uncle have both told him that it’s a grind going from college to the NFL, but a rewarding one.
“They’ve told me it’s a long process,” Taylor said. “It’s one of the longest years of your life, up until rookie minicamp in the season, but really just staying in tune with my discipline and kind of working at it, like I’ve been for the past three months, and then you’re switching over to visits, really just being where your feet are and being yourself, so enjoying the process, being where your feet are, being yourself to all these teams, and really just selling yourself and not anything else.”
Taylor was a three-year starting tight end at LSU and caught 129 passes for 1,308 yards in his college career. He projects as a second-round pick, which would beat both his father (a third-round pick in 1997) and his uncle (a fifth-round pick in 1996).
During his time with the Jets, Zach Wilson took plenty of criticism for never becoming the franchise quarterback he was expected to be as the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. But the Jets also took plenty of criticism for not developing Wilson. And Wilson says that in Miami now, he’s in a place where he can continue to grow as a quarterback.
Wilson said Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is everything he wants in a coach who can bring out the best in him as a quarterback.
“I think just extremely raw, his ability to just be completely himself every single day is I think what you want in a coach,” Wilson said. “Somebody that is going to give you exactly the same guy every single day and obviously he’s a phenomenal coach and shows how much he cares and invests in you, and so those are some of the qualities I’m just the most excited for.”
Backup quarterback for the Dolphins is one of the most scrutinized jobs in the NFL, given the injury history of starter Tua Tagovailoa. But when asked if he feels pressure, Wilson said he’s ready for whatever comes at him.
“I don’t know if it’s pressure, I mean luckily I’ve played in a lot of games in the NFL so far, and so it’s just the ability to step in and make the offense feel like nothing’s changed from a leadership standpoint, just command of the huddle getting guys the information they need on each and every play and not skipping a beat kind of mentality going in there that everyone feels comfortable that they’re able to completely do exactly what they’ve been doing,” Wilson said.
The Dolphins hope they never need to turn to Wilson. But he thinks that he’ll fit right in with McDaniel’s offense.
