Stephen Hill is in the Rex Ryan doghouse and apparently he has been there since he was drafted back in 2012. The second-round wide receiver was expected to be a vital part to the New York Jets offense this season, but has yet to wow anyone, especially his head coach. Now after Ryan expressed his disappointment in Hill, he could be getting closer to no longer being in New York after this season.
Ryan made headlines after he noted that it was not his decision to draft Hill in the first place. Apparently, Ryan was never sold on the potential of the wide receiver, but the Jets' general manager and team owner liked what the game tape showed and Hill was drafted despite the coach's opinion.
'Well, nothing told me he would [contribute]," Ryan told SI.com before the 2012 regular season. "Nothing. When I saw the tape [of his collegiate play] I was concerned. But [Jets G.M.] Mike Tannenbaum and [senior personnel executive] Terry [Bradway] and all our scouts were adamant about this guy. They were adamant that this guy can do it. He can run all these routes, he had good hands and he's got 4.2 speed at 6-foot-5. He was the guy they all wanted, but honestly, when it came down to it, a wideout? Not my dream pick. But now that we have him, of course, I want to claim him: 'Oh, that was my pick.' But it really wasn't."
Ryan had to then backtrack on the comments, saying it was not his intentions to diss Hill. He believed the comments were taken the wrong way and that he was perfectly happy with having the wide receiver on the team and seeing how he would develop. The result is 340 receiving yards this season and one touchdown as the second-leading pass catcher on the team. Ryan is not thrilled.
"I've been disappointed," Ryan said, via ProFootballTalk.com. "There's no doubt because we all see the potential that this young man has. He's got the size, the speed, he's tough enough [and] he has courage. Whether it was through something, maybe physically or whatever, maybe he hadn't been 100 percent for whatever reason, but we'll see. We'll look at him. By now I think we're all expecting, Jet fans are all expecting him to take the next step and for whatever reason it hadn't been there yet. [It] doesn't mean we're giving up on the young man, but we want to see it."
If Hill fails to either stay healthy or score a few more points, he could be seeing his final days in green. It is clear Ryan is not sold on Hill as a future member of the Jets and a trade could be very likely in his future. The jury is still out on whether or not he can be a pro receiver. Considering the quarterbacks he has had to work with, a judgment cannot be made.
