‘It’s a very common thing in America’: Dolphins players, an emotional coach Mike McDaniel weigh in on Tyreek Hill’s detainment

MIAMI GARDENS — After the shocking news Sunday morning that star Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was detained and handcuffed outside Hard Rock Stadium, Dolphins players continued to react on Monday.

Safety Jevon Holland, who made possibly the greatest momentum-shifting play in the 20-17 win when he forced a fumble in the third quarter, expressed some thought-provoking perspective.

“That’s got to get handled,” Holland said in the locker room Sunday. “Excessive force on a Black man, that’s not uncommon. It’s a very common thing in America. I think that needs to be addressed at a country-wide level.”

On Monday, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel was visibly emotional and choked up when discussing the accounts he has heard of the traffic stop that resulted in Miami’s superstar wide receiver handcuffed and pinned to the street by officers.

“It’s been hard for me to find myself more upset the more I think about it, and that’s because of my teammates and trying to put myself in that situation that they’ve described, emotionally,” McDaniel said, holding back tears. “There’s just elements that’s very triggering, but I do think that it’s supremely important to wait for information to be gathered before any rush to judgment. Regardless, I know the feelings expressed to me are unsettling.”

While McDaniel is biracial with a Black father, his skin color is white. He understands he cannot relate to the Black experience dealing with police.

“My appearance lends me to the journey of many not alienated,” he said. “I don’t have a history of feeling profiled. … Situations like that, it’s not about the emotions that arise for me. It’s about the people in it.”

So what can McDaniel, a leader that players lean on so often for advice, tell them in such scenarios, when he doesn’t know what it feels like?

“I think it’s better to listen, more than anything,” he said. “I think it’s important to realize when your words don’t mean (anything). What am I going to say?”

Fellow safety Jordan Poyer, speaking Monday over a web conference call with reporters, found it exceptional that Hill locked in mentally after the incident to go for seven receptions and 130 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown.

“He a boss for getting (detained) and then going out there and going for 130. That’s just absolutely ridiculous,” Poyer said. “What a crazy story for him. That’s something I’ll tell my grandkids when I’m 70 years old. ‘Yeah, that boy Tyreek, he got (detained) and went out there and went crazy on the field.”

Several teammates rallied around Hill — both in the game and a few who witnessed the incident between the star receiver and Miami-Dade police. Defensive tackle Calais Campbell and tight end Jonnu Smith were among those offering Hill support in the moment. TMZ video also showed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. present.

Campbell, who was also detained briefly by officers Sunday morning, called the entire interaction “completely unnecessary” in a nationally televised interview with ESPN on Monday. He added that Hill was telling teammates, “Don’t leave me!” as officers ordered them to step away.

“We love Tyreek. It was super cool that the guys that were around him,” Poyer said. “Just a tough situation. We’re glad that he was OK. I saw his press conference after the game, and what a leader he is for saying the things that he said.”

Hill posed the question after the game of what would happen to any other citizen in the same situation: “What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?”

Dolphins players, amid the Hill news and a slow start in their opener, said they were able to remain focused.

“We know, with the challenge we had in front of us — it was a good team across from us — so we really couldn’t go out there and play around and focus on things that are out of our control,” linebacker David Long Jr. said. “We talked about it, locked back in and ended up going out there and handling our business.”

Jalen and Jaelan

With Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey (hamstring) and edge defender Jaelan Phillips (Achilles) on snap count limitations in Sunday’s opener, they actually surpassed the expected snaps played against the Jaguars.

Ramsey played 41 snaps (77 percent of defensive plays) and Phillips 34 (64 percent).

McDaniel said both he and the two defenders were encouraged by the way they were running on the field.

“The only way that happens is because you’re testing the waters and you feel very good about what’s occurring,” he said of the two each playing more than half the snaps on their side of the ball.

Long’s injury

Dolphins linebacker David Long Jr. was checked out by trainers for a hand injury in Sunday’s game but appears to be fine.

“It’s straight. I’m cool,” Long said of how he felt Monday. “Just a little soreness, that’s all.”

Long sprinted to the locker room holding his hand after hurting it on a third-down stop in the second half Sunday, but he was right back on the field for the next series for the defense and didn’t miss a defensive snap.