Tua Tagovailoa: I'm Not Talking Bad About Tyreek Hill, I'm ‘Trying To Hold Him Accountable’

Tyreek Hill has been a handful this off-season — and that's putting it mildly. Now, Tua Tagovailoa is making it clear that his antics didn't go unnoticed.

After making the playoffs with the NFL's most prolific and explosive offense in 2023, the Miami Dolphins fizzled out in 2024. They finished the season 8-9 and, for the first time in Hill's career, his team didn't make the playoffs. Immediately following a loss to the New York Jets in the season finale, Hill told reporters, "I'm out, bro."

And while he and his agent Drew Rosenhaus later walked back that declaration, Hill spent much of the off-season teasing the idea of a trade on social media — much to the annoyance of the Dolphins' fanbase and, as it turns out, the Dolphins' locker room as well.

Tagovailoa explained to reporters at training camp last week that Hill's relationship with the team is "still a work in progress."

"A lot of people that follow football, that follow the Miami Dolphins, that follow Tyreek, that are fans of his, everyone has seen that," Tagovailoa said. "So when you say something like that, you don’t just come back from that with, 'Hey, my bad.' You’ve got to work that relationship up, you’ve got to build everything up again. It’s still a work in progress, not just for me but for everybody."

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During a segment on NFL Network on Saturday, Tagovailoa explained that he wasn't necessarily criticizing Hill, but rather just emphasizing accountability.

"I don’t feel it’s me talking bad about my teammate," Tagovailoa said. "I’m just trying to hold him accountable, because that’s what we try to do with everyone on our team. And if this is what we say the standard is, that’s what the standard is, and no one is exempt from it."

Hopefully, for Miami's sake, Hill finds a way to make amends with his locker room. Because if QB1 and WR1 can't get on the same page — if Hill threatens to leave town every time the going gets tough — this team is in for a long season.