Tyreek Hill – October 23, 2024
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Wednesday, October 23, 2024
WR Tyreek Hill
(So how did QB Tua Tagovailoa look to you in his first practice back?) – “He looked great. Felt like old times, me and him connected on a few deep shots today and that kind of got me feeling good today. I missed that and I missed him. I told I’ve got to take him and his wife to dinner because I missed him so much. (Expletive) was so beautiful, that (expletive) almost made me cry today like just having him in the lineup, having him call the plays, having him direct the offense, like just hearing his voice. I know that sounds crazy, but he’s a big part of this team. You see why these quarterbacks get paid so much money, man, and just the respect I have for him, the respect this whole team has for him. We’re going to have his back no matter what, so glad to have him back.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said he sat close to you on the plane and talked on Sunday. What were your emotions like after such an unusual game where you and WR Jaylen Waddle got so few touches?) – “I don’t know, bro, like (expletive) I’ve been chilling. I was asleep after the game. My mindset is going to be the same mindset every week, is to win – I don’t know care how many touches I got. If we would’ve won the game 17-16 and I had two targets or three catches, I would have been fine with that. I just want to win. I’m at a point in my life and a point in my career where the most important thing is to win ball games and I feel like that makes up who I am – the person, the player, all of that. I could care less – if the stats come, they come.”
(How hard has this month been for you?) – “This month has been great for me. My wife is about to have a baby. We’re about to have a beautiful baby girl so this month is great. Football is football; I feel like I’ve been playing football my whole entire life. You’re going to have ups, you’re going to have downs. I’m going on Year 9 now, so I understand how it goes. I’m not finna dwell on it, I’m not finna lose my head over football. I’m going to control what I can control which is running the right route, being in the right spot, being a good teammate for my teammates.”
(How much of a difference does it make having QB Tua Tagovailoa back?) – “It makes a lot of difference. Tua (Tagovailoa) – him and Mike (McDaniel), they’ve got this real special connection. He allows Tua to be Tua. Tua has a connection with all the guys, all of us spend a lot of time with Tua so the connection is there. Then when you bring that all on the field, it magnifies everything that we do – throws are on time, play calling, the operation is faster. He just does a great job of commanding this offense.”
(What’s it going to take the get the 2023 version of this offense back, do you think?) – “Just having Tua (Tagovailoa) back will get us back. Like having Tua back, he’s a big part of this team. He’s the franchise, and anybody that doesn’t see that or doesn’t believe it, go to another team. I could care less right now, but like I said, I missed the dude. This whole team misses him.”
(As teammates, as friends, have you guys ever told QB Tua Tagovailoa over the past two years, like “Bro, you’ve got to get down. You’ve got to slide”?) – “Damn right, tell his ass all the time. (Expletive), when we were playing against the Colts, you see the fans start clapping for Anthony Richardson when he slid. I said our fans need to clap for Tua, make him slide. We need you, bro, next play. (laughter) Come on, (expletive). That (expletive) is real, it’s real. We love him. From brother to brother, we love him. Like he’s a huge part of this team.”
(From what we saw, he looked pretty sharp from the beginning. Were you expecting that or?) – “That’s just Tua (Tagovailoa), bro. He’s sharp. Everything he does, he’s sharp especially in football. He’s going to be accurate; ball is going to be catchable real good, soft in your hands, on time, all of that. It’s going to sharp, so it’s expected.”
(So you weren’t surprised?) – “I’m not surprised. Like we’re in the NFL – it’s the top of the top. Guys are going to stay on top of their job regardless.”
(The timing was back to where it was?) – “It was beautiful. It was so beautiful. I bet if you go ask every guy in this locker room, just say ‘Hey, did Tua connect with Tyreek today?’ And if they say ‘Yeah’ the next question should be ‘What was his reaction right after that?’ I just had a big cheese on my face because it just felt so good. Like y’all don’t know what it does to me.”
(It was a long one?) – “Like one of them over the middle, you know what I’m saying? It was so beautiful. It was nice.”
(At one point you returned a lot of punts obviously in your career, done it very well. Have you brought up to Head Coach Mike McDaniel or Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman about possibly doing that now with WR Braxton Berrios out?) – “No, I’m washed up in that department, bro. For real, I’m done. (laughter) No, if the team needs me to go back there and return punts, obviously I’ll go back there. In critical situations I’m always trying to get the ball in my hands. I always want to be that playmaker. That’s just my mindset so for the past few weeks I’ve been practicing catching punts anyways, so if my number is called, I’m going to go back there.”
(What would you tell people who have you in fantasy who might be a little frustrated from the first six games?) – “We’re back, baby. Strike up the (expletive) band, we’re back, baby. Start me this week, baby, let’s go. (laughter)”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel has talked about QB Tua Tagovailoa not being the savior though…) – “Say what he wants to say. Say what he wants to say, but Tua is that guy. He is that deal. He’s a big part of this team, I’m going to keep saying that. Every guy in this locker room knows that. Obviously when we go play a game, it’s next man up; that’s the mentality all day. That’s the mentality all day, but when Tua is a part of this offense, can’t nobody stop us, bro. We should score every day, that’s the way I look at it. That’s the way I look at it. we’ve got too much talent.”
