MIAMI GARDENS — Any discussion of the relationship between Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and star wide receiver Tyreek Hill still being rocky is dead, according to Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins quarterback started training camp saying Hill was going to have to rebuild his relationship with teammates after the way he ended the previous season, taking himself out of the finale against the New York Jets and then blowing up in the locker room postgame, saying he wanted out from the team.
As the Dolphins get set to open the new season against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday, Tagovailoa put the subject to bed.
“I would say it’s good,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday about his relationship with Hill. “I think, for what it was earlier in the summer, was just that. I think people might have blown it out of proportion to where now, I mean, we’ve worked on it.
“I think that conversation is dead now. I think once people see Tyreek score on Sunday, everyone will forget about that. So, we’re in a good spot, and we’ve been in a good spot for some time, as well.”
Back at his locker after Tagovailoa’s news conference, Hill responded, especially to the point about it getting blown out of proportion.
“I mean, that’s typically what you guys (the media) do, blow it out of proportion,” Hill said. “At the end of the day, me and Tua know exactly where we stand at. He knows and I know that we both have a brother for the rest of our life. And we’re going to continue to build, man, each and every day.
“Brothers fight all the time. I fight with my brothers. We go at it all the time, but at the end of the day, we know what the main goal is. We’re still a family.”
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Whether blown out of proportion in the media or not, Tagovailoa nonetheless started camp by pointing out Hill had to make it up to his teammates ahead of this season.
“I’m going to continue to do my thing, which is show up to practice each and every day, work my tail off, be in the building, be the last one leaving the building, show up in the film room,” Hill said. “I’m doing all the small things which led me to this point of being the player that I am. So very grateful for the opportunity. I’m blessed, so I’m never gonna take it for granted.
“I’ve had a chance this year to reset and look back, and here I am now. So, feel great.”
A turning point in camp may have been the team’s 11-day road trip through the Midwest in the middle of it, with the Dolphins holding joint practices and preseason games in Chicago and Detroit against the Bears and Lions, respectively.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said, during that time away, Tagovailoa and Hill had a night where they were playing cards together in the hotel lobby for hours, along with other teammates.
The relationship remained a question, though, when Tagovailoa highlighted how he and Hill have different personalities in an interview on the sideline during Miami’s second preseason game, at the Lions’ Ford Field.
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Hill has also been hindered by an oblique injury, which had him sidelined for all four of the team’s joint practices over three different weeks, against the Bears, Lions and Jaguars. Wednesday’s injury report revealed Hill also has an ailing calf. He was seen focusing on lower-leg stretches dating all the way back to the team’s intrasquad practice Aug. 7 in Lake Forest, Illinois, the day after he missed a practice in Miami Gardens before the team traveled.
The on-field chemistry has been budding lately between Hill and Tagovailoa since the receiver returned to practice.
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks mentioned Monday that Hill caught multiple touchdowns during that day’s practice.
“They’re really piecing it together the last couple of practices,” fellow wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “Came back, (didn’t) miss a step. That connection has been great. I think they were 100 percent two practices ago, so yeah, they look good.”
This story will be updated.