Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa Makes 1 Thing Clear on Tyreek Hill’s ‘I’m Out’ Outburst

The Miami Dolphins have done their best to move past wide receiver Tyreek Hill very publicly voicing his frustration about missing the playoffs last year after Week 18. Hill told reporters during his postgame interview “I’m out” when addressing his future with the team.

But Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suggested to the media to begin training camp that Hill still has fences to mend in the locker room.

“When you say something like that, you don’t just come back with, ‘My bad,'” Tagovailoa said according to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. “You gotta work that relationship up. He is working on himself.”

The quarterback also stated Hill rebuilding his relationship with him and the team is a “work in progress.”

Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus chalked up Hill’s Week 18 postgame outburst as passion to win. The receiver took more responsibility when addressing his post-Week 18 comments to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio and Phil Simms in February.

“I fully take it back. I’m going to take full accountability of it,” Hill said. “I’m going to come back next year, hoping to still be there, and bust my tail for the team, for the guys, for the fans, for the whole city.”

Tua Tagovailoa Says Tyreek Hill Still Rebuilding Relationships

The quarterback’s response to Hill’s critical outburst of the Dolphins after the season received a wide range of reactions online Wednesday.

Some fans classified it as expected and good leadership. Others saw it as a sign the Dolphins already have chemistry and locker room issues.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport appeared to be implying the latter.

“That’s a very interesting response,” wrote Rapoport on X.

Given what Hill said after Week 18, it’s not super surprising everything isn’t rosy in the Dolphins locker room with Hill.

“I’m opening the door. I’m out, bro,” Hill told reporters on January 5, via The Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly. “It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, I got to do what’s best for my career.

“I’m too much of a competitor to be just out there.”

Tagovailoa Also Sends Hill Love

While the Dolphins quarterback was candid when addressing Hill coming back to the team after his post-Week 18 outburst last season, Tagovailoa also offered a lot of support for his top receiver.

“I think there’s a lot more vulnerability with Tyreek,” Tagovailoa said, via PFT’s Michael David Smith. “He’s conversing a lot more with the guys, not just about football, but about things off the field, being vulnerable about some of the things people know about his personal life and things of that nature. I think that’s the first step toward him building true relationships and a real connection with a lot of the guys in there.

The quarterback suggested Hill’s outburst was a mistake, but Tagovailoa added “everybody makes mistakes.”

“Some people, they’re in the spotlight and their deals get pushed out more than some others,” Tagovailoa said. “So you’ve just got to cut him some grace. That’s our teammate. We love him, but as a person I think if you get to know him you’ll love him too.”