Tyreek Hill owes it to himself, Dolphins ‘to be more mature' off the field | Habib

It comes as no surprise that the Dolphins have had Tyreek Hill in for a talking-to. You know exactly what the Dolphins needed to talk to him about. It wasn’t his on-field performance because whether that field is the practice field or the playing field, Hill has done everything the Dolphins could have wanted when they traded for him.

It’s the off-field stuff. I know there’s a segment of fans who don’t care about off-field drama, but when the line blurs — when off-field action affects what you see on Sundays — suddenly, everyone cares.

Having spent many slivers of time around Hill in his two seasons in Miami, I’m confident when I say that nothing the Dolphins likely told him was met with much pushback.

Tyreek knows what Tyreek should be doing. And he wants to do those things. At times, he has felt he let himself down. If I had to guess, I’d say the disconnect might be that sometimes, Hill’s actions off the field can be too sudden for his own good. The irony is that the very way of operating on the field makes him who he is, but off the field? It's not his friend.

An example was the marina incident in which he slapped an attendant — a boneheaded thing for anyone to do, especially an NFL player pulling in millions. Boneheaded isn’t my word. It’s Tyreek’s.

“I just can’t make boneheaded mistakes like that,” he told reporters.

More: Mike McDaniel: ‘Very important' Dolphins have facts on Tyreek Hill's off-field incidents

In November, Hill returned from the Dolphins’ bye week a beaming newlywed. He was the guy who scored touchdowns, then hustled over to his bride to present her with the football. Who couldn’t love that?

And at the time, Hill’s 30th birthday wasn’t quite speeding toward him, but it was off on the horizon (March 1). He acknowledged he had work to do when it came to acting his age.

“I feel like I’m at the stage in my career now where I’ve got to be more mature with anything that I do outside of football,” he said. “It’s being a father, it’s being a son, a husband, now. I’ve got to stand in that role of being the man that my grandparents raised me to be. I’m loving it.”

Dolphins ‘learning all information possible' on Tyreek Hill

Loving it, but not always living it. I’m not referring to the house fire in January. That was an accident. He wasn’t even home at the time. Also, he has been the subject of paternity suits that may or may not have any basis.

But there was a domestic dispute that Davie police responded to in January. There was his strange divorce petition, which came and went in a Tyreek-like blur. Speaking of odd, there is a suit filed by an influencer claiming Hill broke her leg while demonstrating a football technique. If what is alleged is what occurred, it, too, qualifies for the bonehead file.

“We’re in the avenue of finding, gathering and learning all information possible,” coach Mike McDaniel said when asked about Hill this week at the NFL’s annual meetings in Orlando.

McDaniel went on to say Hill has been “phenomenal” in his cooperation — hammering home the earlier point that Hill knows what’s right and wrong.

Hill isn’t the first Dolphin involved in drama. He won’t be the last. There was Ricky Williams. Cecil Collins. Bullygate, of course. Even now, there’s an offer on the table for Odell Beckham Jr., another receiver who can’t stay out of the news.

Every step along the way, the Dolphins are making business decisions. It’s what every team does regarding every player. The combination of so much money and so many ways to split it up under the cap leaves organizations no choice.

Right now, Hill is the Dolphins’ MVP, coming off a career-best 1,799-yard season, and having also led the league with 13 touchdown receptions. In the NFL, that buys ample credit.

Hill is scheduled to command $31.3 million against the salary cap in 2024 and $34.2 million next year. But it’s $56.3 million in 2026. At the same time, releasing him would save the Dolphins only $11.6 million in 2025 but $45 million in 2026. No way, then, that 2026 plays out under the current parameters.

Age 30 need not mean the end for receivers

Let’s also consider that 2024 will be the first season Hill plays after celebrating his 30th birthday. It’s a big number but not necessarily the end of the road for receivers. Mark Clayton put up 1,053 yards and 12 TDs at age 30. Randy Moss led the NFL with 23 TDs and amassed 1,493 yards. Calvin Johnson had 1,214 yards at age 30. We can’t say how Megatron played at 31. He was retired.

And Jerry Rice? He was just getting started. Rice played eight seasons at age 30 or younger, but 12 more seasons after that. Of his 14 seasons with at least 1,000 yards, only half were at 30 or younger.

And Larry Fitzgerald had three 1,000-yard seasons at age 31 or older.

Hill’s off-field incidents didn’t start in Miami. There were others in Kansas City. The Dolphins knew that when they traded for him in March 2022.

“Going forward, we feel good about it,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said. “We talked to a number of people that have been around Tyreek, especially in Kansas City the last few years. For us, we’re comfortable moving forward and the expectation, like him, will be for every player on the roster — it’s to be a good teammate and a good citizen in South Florida.”

There can come a point when the NFL steps in to make it so. It’s one thing for Hill to be on the league’s radar for not wearing socks or filming his own touchdown celebration. Just as sure as Hill hates those fines (believe me, he does), he also can afford them. But the league takes a much dimmer view when it comes to things such as domestic disputes. As it should.

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“Working through different things is part of the coach/player relationship,” McDaniel said. “You don’t wish unfortunate things on anyone. But our No. 1 obligation to both player and the organization is to find out all of the information possible and then work with the player. In Tyreek’s case, we’ve been very transparent. He’s been very candid with us. We’re working with him on all of those things.”

Hill let everyone know his goal for 2023 was to become the NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiver. For much of the season, he could almost reach out and grab it like a Tua Tagovailoa spiral. You can bet Hill’s goal for 2024 will be no different.

How Hill goes about his business, though, needs to be different. For the Dolphins’ sake and his own.

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins Tyreek Hill owes it to himself ‘to be more mature'