Kelly: Tyreek Hill needs a valuable lesson in leadership | Opinion

There’s a valid reason one of the most dangerous playmakers in football got traded from the best team in the NFL three years ago, and it wasn’t because of money demands, or the bounty of draft picks the Kansas City Chiefs got for Tyreek Hill.

It’s because Hill can’t consistently be counted on to do the right thing by his employer.

There it is. I said it.

Somebody needed to.

Hill’s off-field behavior during his three-year tenure with the Dolphins has proven this. We — the fans, the media, the coaches, and the entire organization — just keep looking the other way because he’s such a dynamic playmaker. Problem is, what happens when he’s not on pace for 2,000 receiving yards, or Miami’s offense is struggling like it is now?

Monday night’s tantrum, which was caught on the sideline by television cameras and shown to the world during Miami’s embarrassing 31-12 loss to the Tennessee Titans was one of those instances where Hill’s questionable character showed, and it’s potentially just a tip of the iceberg.

“No, it wasn’t frustration,” Hill insisted. “That was just me just motivating my teammates and saying I need more of that.

“I was simply telling 25 [Jaylen Wright] that we need more of that, because he had a great run there toward the end of the game,” said Hill, whose 17 receptions for 217 yards and one touchdown has him off to his slowest start in his nine-year career. “I was like, ‘I need more of that. I need more of that 25.”

Hill lied about what happened, and what he was saying during his outburst. And that’s part of the problem. He has become accustomed to lying so much that you can barely believe what’s coming out his mouth anytime he opens it..

If you look at the clip, it showed the Dolphins were facing a fourth-and-11 trailing 22-6 with 5:36 left in the fourth quarter after being penalized for yet another illegal shift.

Hill’s mouth can easily be seen saying “I’m sick of this [expletive],” likely referring to the Dolphins’ offensive struggles since losing quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa to a troublesome concussion three weeks ago.

Hill left the locker room after Monday night’s game before addressing the loss, and his outburst, which is understandable.

But there’s no need to lie. And there’s certainly no need to troll your own fan base by tweeting out Wednesday that he was “waking up to trade news, exciting.”

Hill was likely referring to his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, shopping for receiver held after losing their second key receiver to a long-term injury last week.

“I’m just focused on right here and right now,” Hill said. “We’ve got a beautiful team here, and I want to be a part of it. We’ve got a great situation here, my family loves it, I enjoy it, the weather is great, the fans are great. So we’ve got a beautiful situation here. Obviously, my parents always taught me control the controllables, and I only can control so much. So with that being said, we all know the NFL is a business. Whatever happens, happens.”

Is Hill teasing a possible Chiefs reunion?

He damn sure was. He was trolling the world, like usual.

“I love trolling you nut cases,” Hill tweeted Thursday after practices, from a twitter account that reads “I enjoy starting [stuff] then leaving.”

We need to expect more from a future Hall of Fame player a player put in a leadership role.

Captains set the tone, create the agenda, and lead the way. They have to be accountable to the team.

They must drop the “me,” mentality and become about “we.”

While Hill says all the right things when he’s not trolling the world, his actions don’t always align.

That’s why it’s hard to envision the Chiefs wanting Hill back because Andy Reid knows firsthand that the eight-time Pro Bowl receiver with a $30 million a season contract, is a ticking time bomb waiting to blow up.

“I think it’s an emotional game and I think there’s emotional players,” said receivers coach Wes Welker, who stands in front of Hill’s outburst on Monday night. “I mean, I don’t know if you’ve seen, but Tom Brady used to have outbursts like that, you know, all the time in trying to lead the team and put us in a positive direction.”