Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips are ‘totally attacking’ their rehabilitation.
With 56 sacks, the Miami Dolphins placed third in the NFL last season; yet, there are currently more concerns than answers regarding the team’s stable of pass rushers.
The Dolphins’ top two edge rushers, Christian Wilkins, who was lost in free agency, are also recovering from major injuries that terminated their 2023 campaign. A day after Thanksgiving, Jaelan Phillips sustained a horrific Achilles tear. It was an ACL tear for Bradley Chubb on New Year’s Eve.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel provided an update on Phillips and Chubb during last week’s NFL annual meeting. He talked highly of the two’s perseverance and commitment in recovery, even if he would not give reporters a timetable for their individual recoveries.
“Hey, we need to make sure they aren’t chasing a timeline because as competitors, they will achieve that timeline and it might be at the worst for their bodies,” McDaniel remarked in reference to Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips. We therefore specifically don’t have deadlines for those two. They literally live there, so we had to order them both to take a week off from rehab not too long ago.
“They have parking spaces for their little scooters, which they have graduated from, with a pseudo-tape on the floor. They’re both actually doing exactly what you would expect from those two people, which is to really tackle that process. However, they’re doing it from the standpoint that they want to get fit for the entire season rather than just for a week.
For the first time since surgery, Phillips posted a video of himself walking without a boot in February. At a charity function later that month, he expressed to reporters that he “feels strong and feels great.”
After the team’s two best rushers, Andrew Van Ginkel, left in free agency to join the Minnesota Vikings, the Dolphins added two-time sack artist Shaquil Barrett to give them a lift. Additionally, it wouldn’t be shocking if the team strengthened their pass rush with an early draft selection.