Not long prior to the Miami Dolphins’ season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 8, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill received citations for careless driving and a seatbelt violation.
But Manuel Batista, the Miami-Dade Police officer who issued the tickets to Hill, did not show up to a court hearing on Monday. As a result, the charges against the star receiver have been dismissed.
Two Dolphins players who have been major contributors to the team so far in the 2024 regular season seemed to breathe a sigh of relief in light of Hill’s legal news.
First, defensive end Calais Campbell said he’s glad that Hill and the rest of the squad can now put the incident in the rearview mirror. Campbell was also detained along with Hill, and he claimed that officers used excessive force on his teammate.
“That was a crazy moment,” said Campbell. “Really uncalled for. But I’m glad that the charges have been dropped and hopefully we can move on past that process.”
Tight end Jonnu Smith suggested that he had a sixth sense that the whole incident between Hill and officers would all blow over at one point or another.
“It’s definitely good to see some justice being done,” Smith said. “I knew eventually it’ll run its course and things will go the way the way they should.”
Perhaps Hill will finish the season off on a high note now that the charges stemming from his detainment won’t be hanging over his head any longer. There’s no definitive proof that the traffic stop from back in September has impacted Hill’s play in his third season with the Dolphins, but he hasn’t looked quite like the receiver he was a season ago for Miami.
For perspective, Hill averaged a league-best 112.4 receiving yards per game in the 2023 regular season. So far this season, he has eclipsed that number just once, and that came against the Jaguars on Sept. 8. His showing against Jacksonville also marks the only time of the campaign so far when he finished with triple digits in receiving yards.
Hill has still been a major component of Miami’s offense, however. The Dolphins are on a three-game winning streak, and he’s totaled 109 receiving yards across the team’s last two contests.
Miami might need Hill to come up big for the team in order for the Dolphins to pick up their fourth win in a row. The Dolphins have a road contest against the 8-3 Green Bay Packers coming up on the horizon, as the two squads will do battle on Nov. 28.
