The Tyreek Decision and What's Ahead
Get ready for another week of uncertainty or speculation when it comes to Tyreek Hill.
At least, that should be the takeaway based on the comments Hill's agent Drew Rosenhaus made Sunday night in his weekly appearance of South Florida TV station WSVN.
Hill, of course, was inactive for the Miami Dolphins' 30-0 victory against the New York Jets on Sunday after testing his injured left ankle in pregame warmups, six days after sustaining the injury in the first half of the Monday night loss against the Tennessee Titans.
Rosenhaus said the decision came at the end of a week where Hill had MRIs (plural) on his ankle and conversations with various doctors.
"This was Tyreek's decision and I'm sure he weighed a lot of different opinions from his family, to his coaches, to the trainers to all the people that he works with, but ultimately it boiled down to Tyreek," Rosenhaus said. "And you have to respect Tyreek because he put, in my mind, the team ahead of his individual goals. Missing this game may allow Tyreek to be available later in the year against perhaps better teams or playoff teams because you just don't know what would have happened if he tried to play.
"It was a really risky proposition. Definitely felt like Tyreek and the team made the best decision by not playing today. In hindsight, looked like a great decision because the team won, and they won handily, and Tyreek was relieved he was happy the team won."
Hill did not speak to the South Florida media last week or after the game Sunday, per team rules that make injured players off limits if they don't practice or play.
But Rosenhaus' comments could be viewed as worrisome if taken at face value when he uses the phrases "may allow" and "later in the year."
Hill's injury hasn't been described beyond being to his ankle, but it certainly looked on replay to be more than a minor sprain and him being inactive obviously confirmed that suspicion.
Before Rosenhaus' comments, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported on the NBC Sunday night pregame show before the Baltimore-Jacksonville matchup that Hill was "not close" to playing against the Jets.
That statement contradicted head coach Mike McDaniel, who after the game had termed it "pretty close."
"That wasn’t the easiest decision," McDaniel said, "but when you look at what’s the best decision for the team and what’s the best decision for him, it was a collective decision that when you’re faced with ... all right, do we press forward and just hope or do we do the thing that the individual player and the team needs for the season? It became easier in the moment just because we have the right well-intentioned people that are looking at this as their responsibility to protect players first and foremost. I think some decisions are hard, but easy at the same time."
HILL AND FOR DALLAS GAME?
The Dolphins clearly managed quite well without Hill against the Jets with a 30-0 victory that never was in doubt.
The offense maybe didn't put up crazy numbers, but it was very efficient and Jaylen Waddle did have Tyreek-like stats with eight catches for 142 yards, a performance highlighted by his 60-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa.
But the Dallas Cowboys, no matter how much they've struggled on the road this season, figure to present a bigger challenge as the start of a brutal three-game season-ending stretch that also includes the AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens and the hard-charging Buffalo Bills.
And there's no question that the Dolphins could use Hill.
But will he be ready? Was the mere fact that Hill actually ran routes in pregame warmups Sunday — and didn't look severely hampered — a sign that he'll definitely be ready for Week 16, particularly when you add McDaniel's "pretty close" remarks?
Or does Rosenhaus' use of "may allow" or "later in the year" suggest that Hill should be considered a question mark at best?
Or is it somewhere in between?
Who knows at this time, but what we do know — or at least severely suspect — is that no definitive answer will be coming until late in the week and don't be surprised if the answer again isn't revealed until the Dolphins inactive list is announced on game day.
