New Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has made it clear he’s a big fan of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. And while some of his comments have been seen as controversial, new head coach Mike McDaniel merely sees it as teammate support.
Hill has doubled down about Tagovailoa, saying that he is “the most accurate quarterback in the NFL,” which raised eyebrows since Tyreek played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes.
Tua, who has had his fair share of criticisms since coming to the NFL, said he appreciates Hill’s comments.
“It’s cool,” said Tagovailoa during a press conference after the team’s first day of training camp. “Tyreek is someone that has well established himself in this league and to have the support from him means a lot. I’m glad to have him as my teammate.”
McDaniel recently appeared on 560 Sports’ “The Jose Rose Show” and said that, from his perspective, it’s about Hill letting Tua know he has confidence in him.
“I think you have a choice in how you receive information as a person, and I talk to players a lot about that,” McDaniel said. “So I think with Tua, and with myself and with Tyreek, what I hear is ‘Hey everyone, my name is Tyreek Hill and I’m confident in my quarterback,’ and I think that’s a good thing for Tua to hear.
“Tua right now is just worried about being his best self. It’s very encouraging, it’s very rewarding from a coach’s perspective to watch him grow with his teammates and for a guy that they’ve only had a limited amount of a work relationship together, that they really started to bond. I think it’s really kind of cool from Tyreek’s perspective.”
One concern that some have noted is that Hill’s comments add more pressure to Tua’s shoulders. And given how much pressure is already on them, it’s unnecessary. But McDaniel says that it’s irrelevant because that pressure is there no matter what.
“There’s always pressure to be good. In the NFL … someone is coming to take your job. That’s the nature of anything successful,” McDaniel said. “I think the Denver Broncos got sold for $4.8 billion, there’s a lot of money in the business. So, you’re probably going to have competition for your job.
“Every single one of us, myself included, you have to recognize in the NFL that it is a privilege and if there’s somebody better to do what you’re doing, they’re coming, whether it’s this year or the next. You just max out yourself, you don’t worry about all that stuff, you try to be the best player you can be.”
[“The Jose Rose Show”, Audacy]
