Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s status for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets remains uncertain, according to coach Mike McDaniel.
McDaniel mentioned on Friday that Hill will miss his third consecutive practice, but cautioned against reading too much into that absence. The key determinant for Hill’s participation will be a discussion between him and McDaniel about his injured ankle.
McDaniel emphasized, “Bottom line is we’ll have a conversation that will be based on — remember, this is Tyreek Hill’s career. He’s a very experienced player.
I handle very experienced players differently than I handle younger guys, because they know what they signed up for and it’s his career.”
He added that Hill’s confidence in his ability to perform and the support of the team’s medical staff will be critical in the decision-making process.
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (Credits: NFL)
“If he’s confident that he can go be himself, and I have the support of the trainers that are responsible to the risk, then he’ll play. If not, then he won’t, and literally every hour, for him, is imperative.”
Hill sustained an ankle injury in the first quarter of Monday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans, resulting in him playing a season-low 47% of the Dolphins’ offensive snaps. Despite returning in the third quarter, Hill admitted he was in significant pain and couldn’t perform at his usual speed.
The All-Pro receiver stated he is determined to play if possible. “That’s never something that I would be thinking about,” Hill said Monday.
“But if the trainers come to me, if they see something in the scans whenever I get these scans, they say, ‘Hey, Reek, you can sit out,’ I do it. But me being me, I don’t want to sit out. I want to be able to help this team any way I can, and that’s just who I am. I just don’t want to miss any games.”
Hill has accumulated 1,542 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns this season. Heading into Week 15, he is on pace to break the NFL record for receiving yards in a season (1,964 by Calvin Johnson in 2012) and potentially exceed 2,000 yards.
