The New York Jets released wide receiver Stephen Hill on Saturday. Hill, a former star at Georgia Tech, has been a disappointment since the Jets drafted him with the 43rd overall pick in 2012. But as far as the 23-year-old’s agent is concerned, Rex Ryan and company set Hill up to fail.
After Hill was cut, his agent Alan Herman criticized the Jets for not putting his client in a position to succeed.
“I’m disappointed in Idzik and Rex with the way the whole thing went down there,” Herman told Jim Corbett of USA TODAY Sports. “Two years in that kind of situation is disheartening.
“He didn’t have a chance that first year with that whole Tim Tebow-Mark Sanchez fiasco. … His second year, Geno Smith was learning how to play quarterback. So they never threw the ball deep because they wanted to simplify things for Geno.”
Hill ran a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash at the 2012 NFL Combine and was at one point an extremely promising young talent. While he hasn’t exactly played with Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, Hill has had some brutal drops in big situations. His progress has also been hampered by knee injuries.
We all know the Tebow experiment was a disaster and Sanchez was below-average at best. However, there are plenty of wide receivers across the NFL (Larry Fitzgerald, Josh Gordon, Andre Johnson, etc.) that have carved out impressive careers with poor quarterback play. That’s a pretty lame excuse from Hill’s agent, who anticipates his client will be scooped up quickly.
“I would think the Browns would put in a claim,” Herman said. “(Coach Mike) Pettine knows him and they need receivers and Stephen can stretch the field.”
Are the Browns really the best team for Hill? What if the whole Hoyer-Manziel thing becomes a circus? At least his agent will have someone to blame.
