For the first four seasons of linebacker Jerome Baker’s career, the Miami Dolphins had missed the playoffs despite him missing just one game during that time.
In 2022, the first year under new head coach Mike McDaniel, Baker finally got a taste of postseason football. The coach wasn’t the only thing that changed, Miami also got a star wide receiver who had seen the peaks of the NFL in Tyreek Hill.
Buy Dolphins TicketsHill spent six seasons of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs where he played in the playoffs in each of them, even winning a Super Bowl in 2019.
Recently, Baker made an appearance on the Varsity House Podcast, where he spoke about the impact that Hill made on the Dolphins in his first season in aqua and orange.
“He brought that winning culture,” Baker said. “It’s hard to build a winning team without winners, essentially. There was nobody that truly won, so it was kind of hard to see ‘oh, this is what winners do’ because none of us knew. We all were essentially a losing team as far as the Dolphins. He came, and he brought that swagger like ‘this is what we need to do. This is how we should play.’ But, he didn’t come with that ‘I’m better than you’ attitude.’
“I could say he’s arguably one of the best teammates you can have. He’s the superstar Tyreek Hill, all that. You take away all that, he’s still this great teammate. He’s ‘let’s all get together and do this.’ He’s essentially the reason I had my Halloween party. ‘Oh, let’s have a Halloween party and invite all the guys…’ He really brought that to life. People can say what they want about Tyreek Hill, whatever, but if you’ve met him, and you’re a teammate of his, he genuinely cares for you. He’s genuinely a great teammate.”
Hill has quickly become one of the most well-liked players in the locker room, and while he performs every time he’s on the field, it’s his effort and attitude with his teammates that really solidifies that.
