Tuesday, June 4, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Is dinner on you this week out with the boys?) – “I mean, it could be. I don’t think we’re going out or nothing, but it could be, take the guys out.”
(What’s your reaction to your new contract?) – “It’s a blessing, man. A blessing. It’s always a blessing to get an extension from an organization that brought you into this league. Yeah, blessing man.”
(At what point were you confident that something would get done?) – “You never know, man. It’s a business part on both sides, so you never know. It made sense for both sides, and we were able to get it done.”
(Seeing your buddy get one, did that kind of light a fire under you in DeVonta Smith?) – “Not really. A lot of guys – y’all have seen the receiver market is going crazy right now. So a lot of guys got paid, but no, not really.”
(What does the contract tell you about how the organization feels about you?) – “That they’re confident in me. Like I said man, they brought me into this league taking a chance – I was 22 (years old) coming off a major injury. So it’s always been love since I got here, and we were just happy to get something done.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa told us about the group chat that you guys have. What’s the funniest remark you got after you resigned?) – “‘T. Stead’ (Terron Armstead) had some memes in there that were pretty funny. (laughter) So I think that was the funniest one that we got.”
(What do you think of WR Tyreek Hill’s ‘28’ nickname for you?) – “That’s Tyreek, bro. He’s going to everybody saying that. Odell (Beckham Jr.) started saying ‘28’ and some other stuff. I don’t know, those guys are clowns.”
(You obviously came here without him, but can you talk about the impact WR Tyreek Hill has had over the last couple years with you?) – “Tyreek (Hill) has been great. That’s my big bro. He helps me in all type of ways, off the field, on the field. Just really letting me be by his side and learn from him and he’s really able to teach me what makes him him.”
(So now you’re locked in through 2028. How much do you want to see your quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa get paid with a long-term extension?) – “Yeah, Tua is my guy. I’ve been saying that for a long time. Without Tua, I don’t think I would’ve got the extension I got. So everybody is rooting for him. He’s our guy. Make sense, let’s get it done.”
(You, WR Odell Beckham Jr. and WR Tyreek Hill have not been on the field together yet, correct? Am I right in that, or have you?) – “No, not yet.”
(What’s your anticipation level like? You can’t wait? Or are you pretty chill about that? How are you feeling about that?) – “I can’t wait, man. Like I said, when I was in high school, these guys were getting it done in the league. So I was a fan of ‘OBJ’ (Odell Beckham Jr.), I was a fan of Tyreek Hill. They’re like the head honchos of the pass era, so playing with them, the kid in me is going to be kind of excited.”
(Another question about your contract. Now that it’s done, do you feel an obligation to the team now to get these guys to the next level?) – “Not an obligation, I’m just here to do my job. Make plays and help the team win.”
(We’ve seen a lot of videos of you working out this offseason. Are there a couple of things that you focused on specifically to get better at coming into 2024?) – “Yeah man, a lot of things. Quick game is something I was going to emphasize on, I felt like I needed to work on it more in the offseason. It’s something that we really emphasized on, me and my trainer – shout out Gold Feet, my guy. So yeah, we’ve been working.”
(What’s the next level for this offense in your opinion?) – “Just staying consistent man throughout the year, making the big plays in big games in big moments and really putting the team on our back when we need to. That’s going to be the next step for us.”
(There’s been a lot of talk about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s different look, especially the weight. I’m curious your thoughts about how you see him?) – “I told him – I missed chubby Tua, man. (laughter) I miss chubby Tua, man. I ain’t going to lie, I didn’t like when I saw him. I told him, I’m not (expletive) with it. I told him straight up, I’m not (expletive) with it. Eat some more or something, man.”
(Is his personality a little different too?) – “Yeah, facts. Hair twisted and some other… (laughter) I’m loving it though. He’s looking good, feeling good. Got to throw with him a lot this offseason, so he’s looking good.”
(I’m sure you want to be with WR Tyreek Hill for a long time. What are your thoughts on one day being the No. 1 during the long-term duration of this contract at some point?) – “Nah man, right now we’re just focused on the season. We’ve got a great group of guys led by Tyreek Hill. I’m just going to fill in when I need to fill in and make plays. We’re going to get to it.”
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
WR Tyreek Hill
(How are you doing today?) – “I’m doing great. I’m feeling fabulous, feeling healthy, feeling vibey. It’s great to be back in Miami for another year. It’s amazing to be around the guys once again. It’s a great feeling. As you all can see, I’ve been all around the world getting my (expletive) torched by kids. But I’m here in Miami so I’m great right now. I’m feeling good.”
(What about the contract?) – “About the contract situation, I’m going to let my agent do his job. That’s his job. His job is to be great at that, and my job is to obviously to come out here and continue to do whatever I can to help this team win. Whether that’s a restructure, whatever the case may be, we want to make sure that it benefits both sides and I want to be able to help the team as much as I can. That’s as much as I can say about it.”
(When you see guys like WR Justin Jefferson and WR A.J. Brown getting deals, what is your reaction?) – “It’s a great day in the Hill household. Everybody waking up happy. Wife waking up happy, my oldest son waking up happy, so it’s a great day. It’s a lot of pressure for me though, because at the same time, I want to be able to help the team as much as I can. Obviously, we already know being greedy ain’t going to help the team. Whatever happens, happens, man.”
(Is it challenging for you to compartmentalize it, separate it and not worry about that when you’re out there and do everything you need to do out there and put it all to the side?) – “No, it’s not. It’s not, man, because I know when I’m at work, it’s time to go to work. Whenever it’s time to talk contract with my agent or whatever the case may be, it’s time to talk contract. Wherever my feet are at, that’s where my head is at. It’s the same thing when I go home with my family. When I go home with my family, I don’t think about football. I think about what I’m going to be cooking next.”
(Can you tell us what it meant to see WR Jaylen Waddle get paid, and what’s it meant to be kind of a mentor for him over the years?) – “It’s great. It’s been awesome, man. Just to see his whole development from where he’s come from, because when I first got here, there were a lot of things that needed to be cleaned up. I was the same way too though – young pup, very explosive, fast, could move with some of the best of them. But as far as with Jaylen (Waddle), he’s done a great job of taking on some of the things I’ve been telling him, and we have such a tremendous receiver coach in Wes Welker that he’s been listening to him also. Just to see him get paid, just to see him get recognized as one of the top guys in this league is awesome. It’s fun. Now his new nickname from me is 28. Every time I see him, I say, ‘What’s up, 28?’ It’s fun.”
(You said a lot about how you want to retire a Dolphin. Head Coach Mike McDaniel talked about it today. For you, if it comes down to maximizing your earnings and insuring that you’re a Dolphin for life, what wins out?) – “Insuring I’m a Dolphin for life – that’s No. 1. That’s priority No. 1, man. This is obviously the best situation for myself and the family, I don’t think it could get any better. Whether it’s the living establishment, the taxes, everything, the weather – everything that comes with just living in Miami is just beautiful. We love it, and it’s awesome just to be here. Coaches are wonderful, teammates are wonderful. I’m like a 20-minute flight away from the Bahamas. I could just go to Baha Mar anytime I want to and do what I got to do.”
(Regarding your status in the league, we know you’re obviously one of the top receivers. Do you feel like you always should be paid like that, should you always be a top five paid receiver?) – “Oh yeah, for sure. I feel like at the end of the day, if you feel like you’re top five at something – that’s like of you worked at Amazon. If you are one of the best Amazon delivery drivers, you’re going to feel some type of way. You’re going to go to your boss and say, ‘Hey bro, I’m doing 100 routes, and this person only doing 65 routes. I’m supposed to be the top paid person.’ You feel me? So if you feel like you deserve something, go get it.”
(How do you feel about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s situation in terms of the fact that the contract still hasn’t gotten done for him?) – “Tua should’ve been paid. I’ve been saying that this all offseason. I know we have a great front office with (General Manager Chris) Grier and (Senior Vice President of Football & Business Administration Brandon) Shore, and they are going to get it done. Obviously, a lot of people are comparing it to the Jared Goff situation and stuff like that. But I feel like Tua is supposed to be up there with some of them guys and passed some of them guys, because just understanding his story and just the progression of how he’s getting better each year and how he’s carrying this offense, it’s crazy. He’s going to continue to get better. I feel like when you get a new contract, they are not paying you for what you did. It’s almost like an investment of what you’re going to do in the future. He’s continually getting better. He’s gradually getting better each and every year. Last year was Pro Bowl, this year a playoff win and much more. Tua should’ve been paid.”
(What are you seeing out of QB Tua Tagovailoa right now? Physically it seems to be a very slimmed down Tua.) – “What I’m seeing out of Tua… I ain’t going to lie, when I saw Tua at the Pro Bowl, I was kind of scared – dude was fat as (expletive). (laughter) He was fat, he was chubby. I was like hold on, bro. Hold on, bro. Ryan Clark said you were kind of thick, he wasn’t lying. But seeing him now and where he’s come from and how skinny he has gotten – what’s that stuff everybody is taking? Ozempic? He had to be taking that, I don’t know. (laughter) What I’m seeing from him now is a lot of guys are getting together outside of here. Hanging out, running routes together, spending off field time together, and Tua is going a great job of orchestrating that. That’s a beautiful thing, because our first few years, we would do it here and there. But this year, he’s really honing in on the guys, hanging out, building that camaraderie with each other, that’s a beautiful thing, man. For him to have such leadership within that and to be a family man, it’s a beautiful thing. He’s growing. He’s growing, and you can obviously see it whenever we step out on the field and we don’t have all of our pieces out there – with myself, with (Jaylen) Waddle in the mix, with Jonnu (Smith), all the guys, Raheem (Mostert), (De’Von) Achane, all of us clicking all at once. It’s going to be a beautiful thing man, I’m excited for this year.”
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(You wouldn’t tell us back in March whenever we saw you at your event that you were losing weight, but you’re losing weight, man. What are you down to now?) – “I don’t know. It’s whatever I’m down to right now.”
(What was the reasoning behind it?) – “I felt like I’d be better. I feel better, quicker on my feet, more nimble, all of that.”
(What do you feel you can add to your game at that weight?) – “Probably extending plays more this offseason and then during the season, training camp, all of that.”
(What have you picked up from working with John Beck, two or three things?) – “Just sort of using my hips, getting my hips more involved with my throwing and sort of the rubber band theory. If you guys know about that, you know about it. If you don’t, I don’t want to explain it right now so I’m not going to explain it, but it’s sort of the rubber band theory.”
(Is this as low as you get weight wise or are you still trying to slim down from here?) – “You’ll see during training camp, we’ll see.”
(Is it more diet or just…?) – “It’s everything – diet and exercise.”
(Is there a food you gave up that you really hate to give up?) – “Just sugar. (laughter) Sugar, you just give up sugar. Give up sugar, you should be good.”
(WR Tyreek Hill mentioned getting you guys together a lot this offseason. Is that something you’ve tried to increase more this offseason?) – “I’ve got together with a couple of these guys more of this offseason, in regards to things that are going on. So I got with those guys a lot more, and we’ve been working a lot more.”
(Do you think of a different physical stature like every time you check in? Like last year it was more muscle. Does it take a few weeks to kind of get used to your new physical state to do what you want to do out there?) – “Not really, just because you’re training with the weight that you have and even the weight that you lose, so your body sort of gets used to it as you’re training. So it’s not like it happens all overnight. No, it’s a subtle change and as you start to shred, you get used to holding that weight. You get used to moving around with that weight and whatnot, so it’s not much of a change in that sense.”
(How concerned are you with your contract situation? And have you observed other quarterbacks around the league as they’ve gotten paid?) – “I mean, I’m not blind to people that are in my position that are getting paid. Am I concerned about it? I’m not concerned about it, but there’s a lot of discussion that we’ve had that we just are trying to move that thing into the right direction where we can both be happy.”
(Are you involved in it personally? Does your agent update you every time there are talks?) – “My agent updates me, but for me, I don’t like updates every time. Like you don’t got to tell me the little things, just tell me things that matter. Are we getting to where we want to or are we not? That’s it.”
(Did you think there’d be more progress at this point?) – “Well, I think there’s been a lot of progress at this point. From where we started, there’s been a lot of progress. Now, you can ask the other question, then why aren’t we seeing an agreement? Well that’s the tough part about it – that’s why it’s business. That’s why you’ve got one side and the other trying to work to meet in the middle.”
(How much did your contract negotiation have to do with your attendance during the first part of offseason program?) – “That I don’t know. I don’t control any of that. I control if I come or not, but I don’t control how they think about that.”
(Do you view those numbers that others get around the league as benchmarks for your negotiations like Jared Goff getting $53 million per year?) – “I’ll tell you one thing; the market is the market. If we didn’t have a market, then none of that would matter. It would just be an organizational thing. It didn’t matter if that guy got paid that because it’s up to the organization. So that’s what I would say – the market is the market. That’s it.”
(Are you confident that a deal will get done before training camp?) – “I’m confident that a deal will get done. But then again, it’s not in my control. It’s really up to both sides meeting in the middle with this.”
(You’re a passionate and emotional guy. Is it difficult for you to separate the two things out there?) – “Yeah, 100 percent, 100 percent. For people that talk about business is different than personal, sure, I can agree to some extent. But who you are as a person, for what you do business and personal, is who you are with how you do everything. That’s how I see it. That’s just how I look at it. And if not, if you can be two different people at once, hey by all means you can do that. But to me, that’s just not how I am.”
(Are you frustrated with where things stand right now?) – “Not frustrated, I’m another word.”
(Agitated? Annoyed? Bothered?) – “I just want to get something done, that’s it. Just want to get something done.”
(Concerned? Is that…?) – “Not concerned. Concerned is not the right word. That’s way off from the word.”
(Antsy maybe?) – “Probably antsy.”
(Pissed off?) – “I wouldn’t say pissed off. I mean, this is the nature of the beast, right? This is how it goes.”
(What was your reaction seeing WR Jaylen Waddle get his deal?) – “I was excited. I texted him. We all texted each other – Jalen Ramsey, Terron Armstead, ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill). We all texted each other in a group chat congratulating him.”
(That’s got to be a fun group chat?) – “I mean, (laughter). Those guys are hilarious, I’ll tell you. But I’m happy for my boy.”
(With that rubber band theory, what’s the football benefit to that?) – “The football benefit to the rubber band theory? It’s seamless when you throw. So your hips go before your upper body, and then it’s sort of like when you release it, it just snaps. Just a flick of the wrist, but that ball takes off for you.”
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Update on QB Tua Tagovailoa – will he be here? Will he be participating today? Will he be participating fully for the three days of minicamp?) – “OK, which one?”
(Will QB Tua Tagovailoa be here?) – “I’ve seen him in the flesh today. We made great eye contact, had a nice little dap up in install. And then as far as everything else, as far as I know, we’re going to move forward in kind of a similar fashion that we had before where we’re going to have him out there and he’s going to be participating, but the depth and really across the board what he’s doing, that will be more up to him than anything. To me, the only way that I can do this job appropriately to everyone is honestly just worry about coaching people, and if they take these reps, they take these reps. If they don’t, somebody’s going to get better in that rep. So that stuff I haven’t really paid attention to, I’m not really too focused on. We’ve had a tremendous offseason with regard to developing certain things within our offense and Tua has done a great job with developing some stuff that we’ve asked him to do. So if there’s more development live-action today, awesome. If there’s not, I’ll adjust as well.”
(WR Tyreek Hill’s agent said that the club knows how Tyreek feels about his contract situation. How important do you think it is to have not just Tyreek Hill here but a happy Tyreek Hill on the Dolphins?) – “I saw a very happy Tyreek Hill just today face-to-face. I think it is so important. This offseason in particular has just presented the opportunity to kind of really stay fast and true to what you’re trying to do as a coach, and my relationship with the players as a head coach is to resource their game with ways to get better, put them in positions to succeed, all of those things. I’ve been very, very conscientious about our relationships staying healthy that way. So as far as all the things that remind me why, bless his heart, Chris Grier wants to be a GM, you can hang out over there. I’m just going to coach these guys and you let me know what I need to know. That’s basically how we’ve been operating with Tyreek. It’s important to me for all these players that I have a purpose in their life and that purpose can be adding value to their trade and that is better done if their listening isn’t altered because we’re going in different scopes that isn’t really my realm. So Tyreek Hill has been unbelievably valuable to my coaching career, this franchise. We set out to do some ambitious things from the onset, and on top of the fact that he wanted to take his game to another level but also be a leader, he’s tremendously important. We’ve always prioritized him that way so for him and I, we stay in our lane with our relationship and the organization will always do right by players and I let them handle that – let the experts be the experts.”
(A follow-up if I could. WR Tyreek Hill has said on multiple occasions that he wants to retire a Miami Dolphin. Is that a top priority for the organization to make sure that he’s here for the long haul?) – “He’s a big part of everything that we’re doing. I think that is something that I know as competitors, I think Tyreek (Hill) wants that, he’s made that explicit. I think me as a competitor, I want to make that happen. And I think in terms of the Miami Dolphins embracing Tyreek Hill, I think that is an understatement and we look forward to continuing to grow in our relationship, for sure.”
(Just talk about your initial impressions of WR Jaylen Waddle and maybe how he’s grown and maybe how your ceiling for him has changed over the last couple of years?) – “I think it’s been a really cool process with Jaylen (Waddle) just because I got involved in his career, got to start coaching him after he had a 100-reception rookie year. And it was early on that I could tell that this guy has unique skills to play at a high level really across the board – unique slot-route running, full-field speed, playmaking ability, all of that. But then you’re around him, you see the competitor. He’s such a great human being, but the drive for greatness is real for him. I know last year, I guess from a statistical standpoint measured against the year before may have been a dip in numbers; however I think his play had improved from the year before. I think he had an unbelievable offseason that there was a couple injury blips on the radar that kind of kept him from his game, but I think he’s continuing to develop which is great news for the Miami Dolphins, because I think he’s a big-time player that’s hungry and those are great things for fans to watch and organizations to have on their team.”
(I guess how have you seen – sticking with two star wide receivers in Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. How have you seen that mentality shift in the league to where teams don’t just have one big guy, they are gravitating towards having as many stars as possible in that position?) – “I think the trends of the National Football League are very interesting. I do think our two guys have exemplified to a degree the issues that can be presented towards a defense with their skill sets and their threats. I’m not sure if that’s a necessarily a newfound thing to have two top tier receivers, but I do think that people have kind of started to recognize a little more of the ways you can use players in different ways. You can get them the ball, you can do some low cost offense where you can throw it short and run long, those types of things. And I think there is a probably higher priority for that position than probably when I came into the league. But is part of that just flag football and the development of the receiver position and that particular athletes are coming out? That’s for another conversation, but I do recognize that there’s a lot of strong wide receiver duos and teams are prioritizing that, for sure.”
(Just to confirm you’ve mention WR Tyreek Hill, you saw him very happy today. Are you expecting him to practice? I know he’s been working on his own.) – “Throughout the process and specifically – each individual we treat differently. Tyreek (Hill) has been one that we have to kind of measure and take the reins, so to speak, a lot of times on the field because he goes so full tilt and we have to kind of see the pros and cons. He’s been working in the building a ton. He’s going to do little stuff on the side. I wasn’t planning on him being out there for team stuff. But there’s always the caveat that he will jump in line and he’s one that you kind of have to fight out of the drill if he does that. But plan isn’t, but you never know when competition – the locker room is a funny place. All it takes is one guy to say, ‘Dude, you’ve lost it,’ and then he’ll just all of a sudden come up. Wouldn’t plan on it, but we’ll see.”
(Are all the guys who weren’t here for voluntary days here for this mandatory minicamp?) – “Yeah. Yeah, I think that’s a 100 percenter.”
(With the addition of TE Jonnu Smith and TE Jody Fortson Jr., was there a concerted effort to add a different element to that unit? Or do you feel like you had not maximized how you had not used that unit in past seasons?) – “You know – this is a category you’re probably outside of Omar – some people think that there’s just whatever it was, it will always be. I think much of NFL offense, you’re making best with the resources available and playing to people’s skill sets when you are afforded an opportunity to have people of different skill sets. I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to play within the same system (and) have all sorts of different attributes. There’s a time that I was on I was on a team that had the leading tight end in the NFL. So I think you’re always just finding ways to make your team better, and I think with the proven history of the attention that some of the other guys in our offense get, I think that for a defense to fully defend the entire field, those couple guys along with the whole group are really working to take advantage of that, because there’s opportunities there, for sure.”
(With TE Jonnu Smith, the run after catch, what does that allow you to create?) – “I think the biggest thing is that he’s a fast dynamic football player, but what I love that he provides is a tonality at the point of contact. He has become a master of YAC, not only because of speed, but because of a mindset that I think paired with his position coach Jon Embree – I think that’s a great working relationship, because Jon Embree coaches tight ends not to get tackled or that one player can’t tackle you, and that’s Jonnu’s life. I think it’s adding a mentality, adding a physical presence at the point of attack. A lot of times, if people want to really give up a bunch of space and sit back there, or drop seven with some depth, you can make them pay in a short amount of time, and then he can also stretch the field and do some cool stuff, too. So having all those guys work together has been awesome this offseason.”
(DT Brandon Pili seems to have an opportunity at defensive tackle, defensive line. What have you seen from him? What do you need to see from him?) – “I’ve seen a continued growth at the position and then what you’re really trying to find Year 2 is not just the flashes of good reps, but consistency and dependability so that you can turn the corner and make the NFL your home and make a career out of it. That’s what he’s working diligently day-in, day-out. I think it’s pretty much the only thing he has going too, because every time he plays his sister in basketball, she wins. So he better be a good 2-gap. (laughter)”
(When it comes to WR Tyreek Hill, the team was willing to restructure a lot of deals this offseason. Why is his not yet touched to this point?) – “Woah, woah, woah – I coach football. So again, that’s… (laughter). I’m egregiously obvious this offseason that it is very important for me to stay in that lane. We obviously value all of the players that we pay a lot of money to. The business and stuff, I’ll leave that to the agents and the front office so that we can try to go on the correct snap count today.”
(Another evolution question for you here. How have you seen the use of pre-snap motion evolve since you entered the league?) – “Woah, that’s… (laughter). You know what’s really funny is the history in the 20 years since I entered the league and how I can pull clips of my first full-time job in Houston, us orchestrating a two-minute drive under center and the amount of motion, something that I think we used to lead the league in in Houston at like 40 percent, maybe, so it’s grown a ton. I think it’s advantageous to have a receiver background a lot of times for motioning, because you’re trying to gain leverages on the defense and dictate the terms in that regard. Doing that for 20 years and having reduced splits, I think that there’s been more and more people that have latched on. Then those people that are maybe inspired by Houston’s offense motioning, then they invent a motion or create a different motion that kind of gives routes to ideas that we have. So it’s definitely completely evolved. I don’t think we installed timing at the snap motion until I want to say maybe 2017 or 2018, and we have almost half our plays that way. It’s been a cool process, that’s definitely become more of the norm. And those cycles, they will probably come back full cylinder in 20 years, and everybody will be stagnant.”
(Just a quick follow up. On the defensive side of the ball, what trends have you maybe seen of teams trying to combat that as more teams run the timing-based pre-snap motion?) – “I think that you’ve seen defenses kind of put into buckets, whether they travel or keep the alignment and bump stuff over. But what it does do is it kind of, because it’s initial – because it’s so sudden right before the snap, it kind of shows you the ins and outs of what defenses are doing. Because of that, you’re seeing more and more people have different sort of answers where they have auto triggers with pressures, or they have more consistent rules. From team to team, you can tell that there’s live problem solving going on. It changes a little bit each and every week from opponent to opponent, but the consistent thing you do see is that people are getting better and better at defending it. So just keeping leverage on the defense, making sure that the timed motion doesn’t beat up your flats, those types of things. That’s always the chess match in football that from a schematic standpoint is pretty cool, is you can surprise people for a little bit, then they have an answer for it. So then they’re overplaying one thing. What’s the next move? What’s the next direction you go? Because if you give defensive coaches and defensive players infinite amount of time to try to stop one thing, they’ll be able to stop that one thing. So you always have to evolve and so goes the chess match.”
