Tyreek Hill has not been nearly as impactful as usual so far this season for the Miami Dolphins, thanks to the injury to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
“I think this could end up going down as one of the greatest mistakes an NFL player has ever made in terms of their on-field decisions."@stephenasmith believes Tyreek Hill will regret leaving Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs 👀 pic.twitter.com/StfBPu5ge4
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 1, 2024
Tagovailoa was knocked out of Miami’s Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills with a concussion. Given his history of concussions, the Dolphins are being cautious with the 2020 first-round pick. Meanwhile, in two full games with Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Snoop Huntley throwing him the football, Hill has caught seven passes for 63 yards and no touchdowns. Not surprisingly, Miami lost both games.
On First Take Tuesday, Stephen A. Smith went back to Hill’s decision to force a trade to the Dolphins following the 2021 season. In doing so, he left the Kansas City Chiefs, where he’d had the opportunity to catch passes from Patrick Mahomes and play in an offense designed by Andy Reid.
“Tell me definitively, on football level, can you look at a guy like Tyreek Hill and tell me who made a bigger mistake in terms of leaving their old team?” Smith asked.
“I think this could end up going down as one of the greatest mistakes an NFL football player has ever made in terms of their on-field decisions, departing from Kansas City to go to Miami,” Smith continued. “Because obviously, without Tua, what the hell are we going to see from Tyreek Hill? He ain’t got anybody to throw him the damn football.”
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 24: Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins and Tyreek Hill #10 of the Miami Dolphins celebrate after a Miami touchdown during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Hard Rock Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Megan Briggs/Getty Images
As Smith mentioned, Hill did win a Super Bowl in Kansas City before leaving, and he signed a lucrative contract extension with the Dolphins. Those are two accomplishments he can check off his list.
However, Smith criticized Hill for saying early in his Miami tenure that Tagovailoa was on Mahomes’ level when that clearly wasn’t the case.
Now that Tua’s football future is murky, Hill is languishing in South Beach. Smith may have been hyperbolic in describing Hill’s decision as an all-time error, but it wouldn’t surprise us if the star wideout might want a do-over.
