Text from wife motivated Tyreek Hill to return from injury?

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill Jim Rassol / USA TODAY NETWORK

A text from his wife seemed to motivate Tyreek Hill to return from ‘MNF’ injury

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 12/12/23

It’s no secret that the Miami Dolphins’ high-octane offense is built around feeding the ball to arguably their best player, Tyreek Hill.

But when the 29-year-old receiver left in the first quarter of Miami’s “Monday Night Football” matchup with the Tennessee Titans with an ankle injury, he hinted that a text message from his wife prompted him to return later in the third quarter just as the Dolphins began mounting a comeback.

“I just made up in my mind, I came in at halftime, I texted my wife, I was like, 'This s--- hurt. I need an ankle massage tonight,’” Hill said, via ESPN. “She's like, ‘You'd better get your a-- back in that game, dawg.’ I was like, ‘All right.’ So I just made up my mind that it's going to hurt. It's going to suck.”

The injury occurred with 3:05 left in the first quarter when Hill was tackled out of bounds by Titans cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, who used a hip-drop, horse-collar tackle to bring him to the ground.

Tyreek Hill hyped up the crowd after he appeared to injure his knee after an awkward tackle pic.twitter.com/1qe5r8UssH
— ESPN (@espn) December 12, 2023

Miami was leading 7-0 at that point, and with Hill out of the game, the Titans rallied to take a 10-7 lead at halftime.

The Dolphins offense looked out of rhythm without Hill on the field, and the Titans defense came after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with relentless pressure and took advantage of an offensive line that lost center Connor Williams in the first quarter and was without starters Terron Armstead, Robert Hunt and Isaiah Wynn.

Miami entered the game averaging an NFL-best 428.4 yards of total offense per game but managed just 366 in the loss to Tennessee, with only 160 yards coming in the first half.

Once Hill returned, Miami reeled off 17 unanswered points to run up a 27-13 lead with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter before Will Levis led the Titans to an improbable come-from-behind win. Hill finished with four receptions for 61 yards — his third-lowest output of the season.

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