Getty Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill watch from the bench on October 24, 2021.
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill stirred the pot within Chiefs Kingdom recently when the former Kansas City Chiefs receiver said his new quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, was more accurate than Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during his It Needed to be Said podcast premiere.
That was one of several things Hill said on his podcast that shined a negative light on the Chiefs.
It was a surprising decision by Hill to take this course of action after leaving an organization that helped put him on a Hall of Fame trajectory. He’s leaving a sour taste in the mouths of those he left behind in Kansas City to seek more money in Miami.
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“I’m surprised a little just because I felt like we love Tyreek here. We’ve always loved him. We still love him,” Mahomes said in his July 16 press conference after Day 3 of mandatory minicamp. “I saw him out at Formula 1 in Miami and everything like that. But I’m sure it had something to do with trying to get his podcast some stuff, get it rolling. But definitely I still love Tyreek. He’s a one-of-a-kind player.
“But as you know in coach Reid’s offense, it takes the whole team. This offense was rolling before I got here. This offense was rolling when I was a young Cowboys fan watching the Eagles beat up on the Cowboys. So I mean, it’s an offense that’s more than one player — and that includes myself.”
Mahomes went on to explain that the issues Hill claims he had with Kansas City’s offense were “definitely new” based on how he portrayed them on the podcast.
“Obviously, when you’re the competitor that he is — that’s the thing I loved about Tyreek and I still love, is he wants to win. And I feel like with the coverages that we were getting, defenses were really accounting for him, so we had to go other places,” Mahomes said. “But when he’s a competitor like that, you want to have a chance to impact the game. So I know he wanted to get the ball as much as possible so he could help us win. It wasn’t a selfish thing.
“But it definitely — it didn’t seem — I mean, we were winning football games, especially at the end of the season. So I didn’t think he really kind of brought that to our attention. But now we just kind of move on and we keep going with the guys that we have here and we try to win football games.”
Andy Reid Speaks Out on Tyreek’s Comments
When also asked about Hill’s comments on his podcast, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was much more dismissive.
“I love Tyreek, so I mean, he’s a good kid,” Reid said. “We think the world of him.”
Twitter users were not as dismissive, however.
“Tyreeks just trying to find a way within his mind to justify his decision. No one wants to admit they’re a sellout,” one Twitter user wrote.
@HerbieTeope Tyreeks just trying to find a way within his mind to justify his decision. No one wants to admit they’re a sellout.
“I love Tyreek but he is obviously just trying to get as much attention as possible and you all keep giving it to him,” another user wrote.
@HerbieTeope I love Tyreek but he is obviously just trying to get as much attention as possible and you all keep giving it to him.
Chiefs Host All-American WR, 1 Other for Tryouts
The Chiefs not only held their first mandatory minicamp practice on Tuesday, June 14, but they also hosted a couple of pass-catchers for a tryout.
The players brought in for a tryout were wide receivers Damon Hazelton and Aaron Parker, according to Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride, with the latter looking “a little better” during the tryout.
The #Chiefs hosted two tryout wide receivers: Damon Hazelton (Missouri) and Aaron Parker (Rhode Island). Of the two, Parker looked a little better in this look.
Hazelton finished his collegiate career at Missouri after playing two seasons at Virginia Tech. During his lone season at Missouri in 2020, he caught 30 passes for 397 yards and 1 touchdown in 8 games played, according to Sports Reference. He entered the NFL undrafted in 2021, and played for the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers last summer, but didn’t perform well enough to make either team’s 53-man roster.
In October, Hazelton — who stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 215 lbs — signed with Houston’s practice squad, and would stay with the team until May 31, which is when the Texans waived him, per Pro Football Reference.
Parker played his college ball at Rhode Island and had a decorated career during his time in the FCS. In 44 career games, he recorded 216 catches for 3,450 yards and 30 touchdowns, per ESPN. He was named second-team Associated Press FCS All-American during his senior season, which took place in the fall of 2019.
Parker entered the NFL undrafted and played for the Dallas Cowboys over the summer of 2021. He was waived during roster cutdowns ahead of the regular season and was added to the Carolina Panthers practice squad on September 2, according to Pro Football Reference. Parker remained with the Panthers until he was waived by the organization on May 12.