Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill played only 33 snaps Monday night after suffering an ankle injury in the first quarter. He said he went back into the game in the third quarter to “bring some energy and be that spark.”
— Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill played only 33 snaps in Monday night’s 28-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans after suffering an ankle injury in the first quarter.
Hill was tackled out of bounds after catching a pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and immediately writhed in pain before leaving the field. He initially walked across the field from the Titans’ sideline to the Dolphins’ but ran the final 20 or so yards after hearing “MVP” chants from the home crowd.
The NFL’s leader in receiving yards didn’t play another snap until the Dolphins’ second drive of the third quarter, inspired in part by a text from his wife.
“When it happened, like my first reaction was like, man, my ankle is gone,” he said. “My adrenaline kicked in, I ran off the field, then I sat for a while and it got stiff and I was going through a lot of pain. Then 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, and she’s like, ‘You’d better get your ass 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. Tonight and tomorrow morning. I just went back in the game on my own, without anybody saying, ‘Reek, go.’ It was like, no, f— this, I’ve got to get out there and bring some energy and be that spark.”
Miami was outgained by the Titans, 403 yards to 366, and largely struggled without Hill in the game. Miami played without starting offensive linemen Terron Armstead, Robert Hunt and Isaiah Wynn, who were inactive, and center Connor Williams, who left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter and did not return.
