Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill expressed his gratitude for his tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs. However, as he anticipates reuniting with some of his former teammates this weekend, he insists that he isn’t carrying any extra emotions into the upcoming game.
Having spent the initial six years of his career with the Chiefs, Hill was traded to the Dolphins last offseason, and he is now set to face his former team for the first time this Sunday. The game’s venue will be Frankfurt, Germany, rather than the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium, but for Hill, the location is secondary to the game’s outcome.
“It doesn’t really matter where we play,” he remarked with a smile. “I mean, obviously, it would’ve been great to play in K.C., but it really doesn’t matter where we play, you feel me? They’re going to get this work wherever, though.”
Hill’s reunion takes place shortly after he was named the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Month for October. He presently leads the league in receiving yards with 1,014 and is on track to become the first receiver in NFL history to exceed 2,000 receiving yards in a single season.
Since his trade last March, no player has accumulated more receiving yards or catches than Hill. In his debut season with the Dolphins, he reached a career-high 1,710 yards. While he didn’t necessarily wish to leave Kansas City when he requested the trade last offseason, his desire was to be compensated as the top wide receiver in the NFL. Miami promptly made him the highest-paid receiver in NFL history after finalizing the trade.
“I’m kind of glad that [the trade] happened,” Hill said. “Obviously, the situation I’m in is great. I’ve got great teammates. My family is from Miami, and I accomplished one of my goals of being one of the highest-paid in the league. So, everything’s great. Life is great, man. Never can take anything for granted. So, I can’t look back. Always got to look forward. That’s my mindset.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is renowned for his ability to make off-script plays. Since 2018, he has led all active players in passing yards (16,187), passing touchdowns (121), and quarterback rating (69.4) when his time to throw exceeds 2.5 seconds.
Hill shared a crucial piece of advice with his defensive teammates for moments when plays break down and Mahomes begins to improvise: Find Travis Kelce. Since 2018, Kelce has led all players with 296 receptions on passes that take longer than 2.5 seconds to attempt.
“I’ve been telling the guys to do is just find Kelce,” Hill said. “If you allow Kelce to get open, man, he’s like the energy of that team. Although Pat is all-world, if he finds Kelce and Kelce just catches a 2-yard pass, he somehow finds energy in that and gets that team going.”
Hill is eagerly looking forward to seeing Mahomes and Kelce, among other former teammates, and expects plenty of banter and friendly rivalry throughout the game.
But he doesn’t mind at all. “It is going to be trash talk, but it’s going to be fun though,” he said. “It’s going to be like, ‘I want to see you do good, but we going to bust your ass at the same time, though.’ It is going to be one of those things like backyard football with your brothers.”
During his six years with the Chiefs, Hill earned three All-Pro selections and made six consecutive Pro Bowl appearances. He attributes his current success to that experience, reflecting, “I just look back at that time and just say, ‘Man, he’s just a young guy just trying to find himself in the league.’ I was able to learn from so many guys was able to mature so fast because I was able to step into a receiver role. It was a lot, and I kind of took that on, and I didn’t look back. The coaching staff trusted me there, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. I wouldn’t take none of it back.”
