Tyreek Hill never took the idea of being a Jet seriously
New Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill holds his first news conference among family members and the media in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Thursday. Credit: AP/Carl Juste
Tyreek Hill could have been a Jet on Monday. All he had to do was say yes.
Hill obviously chose the Dolphins over the Jets on Wednesday. But his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, revealed to reporters in Miami that the Jets and Kansas City agreed on a Hill trade first on Monday, two days before the Dolphins reeled Hill in.
Rosenhaus said “it was almost a done deal” and they were working out the extension, but the Dolphins came through “in the nick of time” with a big offer to Kansas City and it was accepted.
Making matters worse — for the Jets and their fans — during Hill’s introductory news conference in Miami on Thursday, he made it seem as if he never really considered the Jets when he was asked how close he was to joining them.
“Who? The Jets?” Hill said. “Nah, man. Look, man, I don’t even want to get into all that. I knew I was going to pick Miami no matter what. I’m basically from here. I’m here all the time. This is home for me.”
Hill is from Georgia, but he lives in Florida. That was just one of the reasons he picked Miami. The Dolphins also are much closer to contending, especially after building up the roster this offseason, and Florida has no state income tax.
Miami acquired the six-time Pro Bowl receiver on Wednesday for five draft picks: a first-round pick (No. 29), a second (No. 50) and a fourth this year and fourth- and sixth-round selections next year. The Dolphins also gave Hill a four-year extension for $120 million, including $72.2 million guaranteed.
The Jets offered two high second-round choices (35 and 38) and pick 69 from the third round.
Hill’s first choice was to remain with Kansas City. The two sides were working on an extension, but Kansas City wasn't willing to meet Hill’s terms of being the highest-paid receiver in NFL history, so Rosenhaus was given permission to seek a trade.
“I wasn’t allowed to negotiate with teams on a contract until they had reached an agreement,” Rosenhaus added. “So they first reached an agreement on a trade with the Jets. We started negotiating with the Jets. And Tyreek gave it serious consideration. I let the other teams know that we were close to getting a deal done with the Jets.
“That’s when the Dolphins worked out the trade with [Kansas City]. And then we started negotiating with the Dolphins. We pretty much negotiated overnight with them.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
