The vibes weren't great when the Dolphins opened training camp this summer, but after six weeks' worth of work together, it sounds as if Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill are in a better place.
At least, that's how the quarterback is selling it mere days before Miami's regular season begins in Indianapolis. Tagovailoa spoke on the matter Wednesday, explaining he and Hill are "good" and that their relationship was never as fractured as it seemed.
"I think people might have blown it out of proportion to where now we've worked on it and I think that conversation is dead now," Tagovailoa said. "I think once people see Tyreek score on Sunday, everyone will forget about that. We're in a good spot and we've been in a good spot for some time as well, so I'm really happy with that and pleased with that."
Tagovailoa opened Dolphins camp by commenting on how Hill needed to earn goodwill among his teammates after the receiver removed himself from their 2024 season finale and publicly suggested in the offseason he'd like to be traded, leading many to believe the Dolphins were marching toward a potentially toxic 2025 season. There was reason for the frustration Hill expressed, though: Tagovailoa's absence due to injury deflated Miami's offense, and Hill's own struggles led to his lowest receiving total since the 2019 season.
Back then, the Chiefs still found plenty of success even with Hill only playing in 12 regular-season games. They went on to win Super Bowl LIV, and Hill responded with a first-team All-Pro showing in 2020.
The same cannot be guaranteed for these Dolphins, a team that needs to answer plenty of questions about their offensive direction -- and the general future of their franchise -- in 2025.
"At the end of the day, me and Tua know exactly where we stand at," Hill said. "He knows and I know that we both have a brother for the rest of our life. We're going to continue to build, man, each and every day. Brothers fight all the time. I fight with my brother, we go at it all the time, but at the end of the day, we know what the main goal is. We're still family. We're going to continue to get better each and every day."
Hill spoke at length about his need to focus on football and family at the start of camp, raising eyebrows because the comments seemed to be both out of character and unprompted. We've yet to learn whether such a change in approach will produce better results, but at minimum, it sounds as if the Dolphins have made an effort to reset prior to a pivotal season.
