Jaelan Phillips has again run into injury trouble, which will cut his season short. The fourth-year Dolphins edge rusher announced on Wednesday he will miss the remainder of the campaign.
Phillips’ statement notes he suffered a knee injury during Miami’s Week 4 loss on Monday night. The ailment will require reconstructive surgery and set him up for another lengthy rehab process. This news means the Dolphins will be without one of their top defenders while attempting to rebound from a 1-3 start.
When Phillips entered the NFL, medical red flags were present, but he did not miss any time during his first two seasons. That situation changed last year when the former first-rounder suffered an Achilles tear on Black Friday. Phillips was limited to eight games as a result, and his promising campaign ended abruptly. As expected, he was back to full strength in time for the start of the 2024 slate, but in short order, he was again sidelined by a significant injury.
The UCLA and Miami product had an encouraging rookie campaign, notching 8.5 sacks. He followed that up with seven one year later and 6.5 (before the injury) last season, leading to high expectations for his production in 2024. Phillips, 25, managed only one sack and a pair of pressures before going down. However, his absence will still be acutely felt on a Dolphins team dealing with critical injuries at several positions.
Of course, Miami’s edge contingent has been without Bradley Chubb this season. The two-time Pro Bowler remains on the PUP list as he rehabs the ACL tear, which ended his 2023 campaign. With the first four weeks of the season in the books, Chubb can return to practice and be activated anytime. It remains to be seen when the former Bronco will be healthy enough to suit up. Without Chubb (for now) and Phillips for the season’s remainder, Miami will rely on veteran Emmanuel Ogbah and rookies Chop Robinson and Mohamed Kamara along the edge.
The Dolphins picked up Phillips’ 2025 fifth-year option, tying him to a salary of $13.3M that year. Given his early production, a long-term deal loomed as a logical path for the team to take, but back-to-back injuries creating lengthy absences will no doubt affect Miami’s approach to negotiations on that front. Phillips will turn his attention to rehab ahead of an offseason in which his financial future will be a key talking point.
