‘No excuses’: Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill opens up about season, new store and wrist injury

Tyreek Hill hasn’t had the best season by any estimation.

One year removed from leading the league in receiving yards and touchdown receptions, the All-Pro pass-catcher might not eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since a shoulder injury limited him to 12 games in 2019.

Hill, of course, didn’t have the best start to the year. He tore a ligament in his wrist during preseason joint practices with the Washington Commanders. Then, just hours before the Miami Dolphins home opener, Miami-Dade Police accosted the eight-time Pro Bowler in front of Hard Rock Stadium, yanking Hill out the car and forcing him to sit in handcuffs on the curb all for an alleged traffic infraction.

For most people, these events – in addition to Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion that created a revolving door at quarterback early in the season – would significantly impact every single element of their lives. Moreover, many would even use that as an excuse. But as Hill stood inside the store for his apparel brand Soul Runner, surrounded by his mother, grandmother, children and his wife, Keeta, he refused to point the finger at anybody but himself.

“I have a certain standard that I want to set for my family and that standard is to never quit, never back down no matter what you’re going through in life because adversity hits us all,” Hill said, later adding that he has “a torn ligament in my wrist but I played through worse”.

“My mindset is like ‘suck it up, wait til the end of season and continue to battle with my brothers’ because you never know when it’s going to end.”

Hundreds of people flocked to Monday’s grand opening of Hill’s brick-and-mortar store at Aventura Mall. Young fans got a chance to interact with the NFL superstar who manned the cash register in addition to taking every single picture and signing every single autograph. Monday served as not only a chance for Hill to invite fans into his new store, which will be near the Bloomingdale’s for at least a year, but also to show his true self.

“I have a crazy, young adult fan base so I want to be able to utilize that and inspire these guys,” Hill said. “Stop by the store whenever I’m in the store. I want to show these guys that I’m a normal human being.”

Although football has been the way that most people were introduced to the name Tyreek Hill, he’s more than just an athlete. He’s a gamer. A father. A son. And apparently a huge fan of Brent Faiyaz which ran on repeat throughout the store all day. All those elements and more could be found throughout the store. So when the football world hasn’t been as kind to him, as it especially was after at least three drops against the San Francisco 49ers, he doesn’t let it bother him.

“The way I was raised, if you’re not adding value to my life or paying my bills, your opinion doesn’t matter,” Hill said. “Everybody has opinions.”

As the season has gone up and down Hill’s family and teammates have kept him leveled. The drops and dip in numbers has surely been frustrating – Hill himself indicated Sunday that he needs more reps with Tagovailoa – but the people in his corner have lifted him up.

“He really has a different level of competitor in him that he can’t help himself but go 100 miles an hour on the football field and loves to train,” coach Mike McDaniel said Monday. “He’s always been known as a very deliberate, aggressive full-out practice player, so being able to utilize what he knows is his platform on this team as a captain and utilize his greatest strength which is his disposition as a competitor; that’s something that when he feels in certain weeks that he can’t do that, it takes something away from him. It’s a frustrating process and guys know that he doesn’t want to watch, he wants to play.”

Added Hill: “Sucks not being able to play the way that I wanted to play.”

While surgery is not off the table, Hill admitted that his run-in with police somewhat “motivated” him to play through the injury.

“I felt like I had something to prove,” he said.

With the season coming to a close and the Dolphins’ playoff chances rather slim, don’t expect Hill to shut it down. He is a captain, after all. And as McDaniel indicated, his work ethic sets the tone for the team.

“Everybody is hurting so that’s not an excuse,” Hill said. “If I drop a pass, that’s on me. No excuses.”