No one gets to be mistakenly nicknamed Cheetah unless they are lightning-fast which Tyreek Hill has proven to be in his few years in the National Football League (NFL). The wide receiver, who can also play as a return specialist and running back, was drafted by the Kansa City Chiefs in 2016 amid heavy criticism over a past domestic abuse incident. The player has, however, put all that behind him and focused on his game to earn back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances as well as a spot on the Professional Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team.
The football star is equally active on the love scene as he has been an item with Crystal Espinal since his days in college. However, rumors surfaced in 2019 that he has moved on with a new woman but the speculations are yet to be confirmed leaving his fan’s curious about his love life.
Tyreek Hill Was Drafted By The Kansas City Chiefs Against Heavy Criticism
Tyreek Hill has always been a two-sport standout from college in both football and track events. However, despite his exceptional sporting abilities, he has always had this stigma of a past domestic violence incident which has marred his football career. This was exactly his story with Oklahoma State University which dismissed him after just a few months.
However, Hill’s talent and stats at Oklahoma State spoke for itself prompting the University of West Alabama to take a chance on him. He went about his business under the radar with his new team and returned to form on the field, still, the off-field incident continued to hunt him after graduation.
Consequently, Hill was not invited to the NFL Combine because of the incident and was projected to go undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft. However, the Kansas City Chiefs against heavy criticism selected him with the 165th overall pick in the fifth round. After drafting Hill, the Chiefs’ deemed it necessary to hold an impromptu press conference to addressed the issue with the media in the first day of rookie minicamp.
The 2016 Season Marked His Rookie Year With The Kansas City Chiefs
On the 17th of May 2016, the rising star inked a four-year/$2.58 million deal with the Chiefs. This contract included $100,000 guaranteed in addition to a signing bonus of $70,000, marking the young footballer’s debut deal as a professional in the National Football League.
The 2016 season opened with Tyreek Hill playing as his team’s starting punt returner, their kick returner, and fourth wide receiver on their depth chart, coming behind veterans like Jeremy Maclin, Albert Wilson, and Chris Conley. In the Chiefs’ season-opener, the Florida native made his debut NFL catch for a 9-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith as his team came back from 21-3 to defeat the San Diego Chargers 33–27 during overtime.
In the 8th week, the blossoming footballer caught a total of 5 passes for a season-high 98 yards in addition to a touchdown in a 30–14 road win over the Indianapolis Colts. A couple of weeks down the line, Hill recorded a season-high 10 catches for 89 yards, assisting the Kansas City Chiefs come back from a 17–0 deficit to beat the Carolina Panthers by a 20-17 scoreline. In their 12th week, the Chiefs emerged victorious (overtime road victory) over the Denver Broncos recording a 30-27 score. Hill was quite outstanding in this game, running for a three-yard touchdown, returning a kickoff for an 86-yard touchdown, and catching a three-yard touchdown pass with just less than five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
He became the first player that recorded a kick return for one touchdown, receiving touchdown, and rushing touchdown in a game since Gale Sayers did the same for the Chicago Bears team in 1965. Tyreek Hill’s return saw him reach a speed of 22.77 miles per hour which was captured as the fastest speed any player in the NFL had reached during the season. His performance did not go unnoticed, it earned the young player AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
The Remaining Part Of Tyreek Hill’s Rookie Season Were Also Eventful
In their 14th week game, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Oakland Raiders 21–13 on Thursday Night Football, moving to the first position in the AFC West. During the game, Hill returned a punt for a 78-yard touchdown and caught a total of six receptions for 66 yards as well as scored on a 36-yard touchdown reception; this propelled the Chiefs to win the game. His Week 15 performance earned him the title of AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
After a couple of weeks, the Chiefs scored another victory of 33–10, but this time against the Broncos. Hill played an excellent game, recording a season-high 6 carries for a total of 95 rushing yards, scoring a 70-yard rushing touchdown. His team also won the Chargers 37-27 during the regular-season finale with the Florida native catching 5 passes for 46 receiving yards, he recorded 3 carries for 15 rushing yards, plus a 95-yard punt return for one touchdown. It was at this point that Hill earned his second AFC Special Teams Player of the Week title.
At the conclusion of his rookie season, Tyreek Hill’s stats were summed up as 61 receptions for a total of 593 receiving yards plus 6 touchdowns, 24 carries for 267 rushing yards plus three rushing touchdowns. He also recorded 14 kick returns for 384 yards plus one touchdown, in addition to 39 punt returns for 592 yards plus two touchdowns. Hill made appearances in all the season’s 16 games and started once with 7 combined tackles.
Hill was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl as a return specialist. On the 6th of January 2017, the rising star was named First-team All-Pro as a punt returner and for the 2016 season, he earned the title of NFL All-Rookie Team. His fellow players ranked him 36th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.
The Chiefs Opened The 2017 Season With Tales Of Victories
On the 7th of September 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs game against the defending Super Bowl champion, the New England Patriots in the season opener on Thursday Night Football. Hill wrapped up the game with a career-high 133 receiving yards on 7 receptions in addition to a 75-yard reception for a single touchdown, as his team emerged victorious on the road by a 42–27 score.
Tyreek Hill recorded impressive stats in the ensuing games against top teams like the Houston Texans, the Denver Broncos, and the Dallas Cowboys. However, the Chiefs lost to the New York Jets during Week 13, but Hill still recorded 185 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 2 touchdowns, including a 79-yard touchdown. On the 19th of December 2017, the footballer was named to his second Pro Bowl as a return specialist. Hill wrapped up his second professional season with outstanding stats of 75 receptions for 1,183 yards plus 7 touchdowns. He also had 25 punt returns for 204 net yards plus one return touchdown.
The Kansas City Chiefs made the playoffs as they concluded the 2017 season atop the AFC West with a record of 10–6. During the Wild Card Round, they had a narrow 22–21 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Hill finished with a total of 7 receptions for 87 yards plus a 14-yard rush. He was eventually selected to his second straight Pro Bowl as a return specialist for the AFC. Hill’s fellow players ranked him 40th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
Hill Had Three Less Impressive Games During The 2018 Season But Bounced Back
The Chiefs opened Week 1 of the 2018 season with a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers with a 38-28 score, during the game; Hill displayed his stellar prowess by returning his first touch, a punt return, plus 91 yards for one touchdown. He equally recorded 169 receiving yards and a couple of touchdowns. In the game, he hauled in a total of a 58-yard touchdown pass, marking his 13th-career touchdown of over 50 yards. He also achieved 3 touchdowns in a game for the second time in his professional career in the NFL. His stats against the Pittsburgh Steelers were good but he had three less-impressive games before bouncing back to form.
Though the Chiefs lost to the New England Patriots during the 6th week, they recorded a Week 10 victory over the Arizona Cardinals but lost to the Los Angeles Rams. However, Hill’s stats were still outstanding, he wrapped up the 2018 season with a career-high 87 receptions for a total of 1,479 yards plus 12 touchdowns. The stellar football player finished in the second place on the team in receptions behind Travis Kelce, leading the Chiefs in receiving yards as well as touchdowns.
He also emerged in the fourth position in the league in both receiving yards and touchdowns, leading the league in 20+ and 40+ yard receptions. Eventually, Tyreek Hill was named to his third straight Pro Bowl and earned the title of first-team All-Pro in the “flex” position, in addition to second-team All-Pro in his capacity as a wide receiver. During the Divisional Rounds, the Chiefs were victorious over the Indianapolis Colts with a 31-13 score but lost 37-31 to the New England Patriots.
He Inked A Three-year, $54 million Extension Deal For The 2019 Season With The Chiefs But Was Undermined By Injury
Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill taken to hospital after shoulder injury, could reportedly miss weeks: https://t.co/cgwvuYPxUn pic.twitter.com/RjLZzyw9qH
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 8, 2019
On the 6th of September 2019, the football star penned a three-year, $54 million extension with his team the Kansas City Chiefs, however, he sustained a shoulder injury during the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This led to him missing some game time but returned during the 6th week in a loss against the Houston Texans (31-24). He bounced back in a win (30-6) over the Denver Broncos, recording 74 receiving yards plus a 57-yard touchdown. The Chiefs later won the Minnesota Vikings but lost to the Tennessee Titans. Overall, Hill finished the 2019 season with a record of 58 receptions for a total of 860 receiving yards in addition to seven receiving touchdowns.
The Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL wrapped up the season with a 12–4 record, winning the AFC West, and also earned a first-round finish. Hill was quite good in the Divisional Round when the Chiefs came against the Houston Texans, the Florida native had 3 receptions for 41 receiving yards as the Chiefs walloped their opponent in a 51–31 victory.
During the AFC Championship against the Titans, Tyreek Hill did a remarkable job catching 5 passes for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Chiefs won with a 35–24 score. A couple of weeks down the line during a Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers, the talented player caught nine passes for a total of 105 yards; this included a 44-yard catch on 3rd and 15 that ignited his team’s comeback en route the 31–20 win.
Hill Physically Abused His Former Girlfriend Crystal Espinal
It would really take a very long time before fans and the general public will forget about Tyreek Hill’s relationship with Crystal Espinal, the footballer’s girlfriend during his time at Oklahoma State who made the headlines after he physically abused her.
It was reported that Hill physically assaulted Espinal, who was 8-weeks pregnant at the time after she confronted him in his apartment over allegations that he was hitting on other women. According to police reports, Hill pushed her out of his room and threw her phone and laptop into the hallway. Espinal re-entered the room only to find herself being punched in the stomach. Hill was said to have further put her in a headlock as he also tried to strangle her, depriving her of oxygen for a few seconds.
The Football Star Pleaded Guilty To The Offense
Crystal Espinal subsequently checked herself into a hospital and filed charges against the soon-to-be father of her child who was subsequently arrested on the 12th of December 2014. When the case was eventually called up in court, Tyreek Hill pleaded guilty to all the charges. From the ensuing reports, his guilty plea could have seen him face up to three years in prison but that was not to be.
It happened that the court was lenient with the young football player since he was a first-time offender. Instead he received a three-year deferred sentence with probation, along with other requirements that included a domestic-abuse evaluation program and anger management classes.
In March 2019, Hill came under investigated for alleged battery following an incident in which his then three-year-old son sustained a broken arm. On the 19th of July 2019, a statement was released by the NFL saying that the player will not be suspended as they found no evidence that he violated the personal conduct policy, however, they said that the incident will be re-examined if eventually new evidence emerges.
Tyreek Hill Had Been Dating Crystal Espinal Since His College Days
Tyreek Hill has never exchanged marital vows with any woman, but it is public knowledge that he has been an item with his long-time girlfriend American businesswoman Crystal Espinal since 2014. Four years down the line in September 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs star popped the big question to which he received an answer in the affirmative.
Though they are yet to take the walk down the aisle, the two are already parents to three children. Their son Zev was born in July 2015. They later increased their small circle with the birth of a set of twins Nakeem and Nyla barely three years later in July 2019.
Following the birth of the twins, Espinal filed a petition to establish child support and supervised visits with the kids. The petition also covered the confirmation of the paternity of the twins. Neither Espinal nor Hill has gone public with photos or info about the twins on social media. However, there have been speculations that Hill has got a new woman.
Who Is The Footballer Dating Now?
Speculations has been running rife since 2019 that Tyreek Hill has got a new girl in his life. According to reports, she goes by the name Sasha Iolani who works as a model and she was live at Arrowhead Stadium for the Chief’s 31-24 loss to the Texans. After the game, Sasha shared a photo of herself at the game kitted out in a shirt with “Cheetah” repeatedly printed on it along with the animal stripes.
The duo reportedly shared an Instagram story in October 2019 with the imaging showing them in matching shirts hugging each other at the stadium. However, neither of the two have come up with a confirmation of their relationship status, so it is not yet official.