The Dolphins recently placed edge defender Jaelan Phillips on season-ending injured reserve with a partially-torn ACL, which has magnified the absence of fellow pass rusher Bradley Chubb. While Chubb is now eligible to be activated off of the PUP list since four regular season games are in the books, there is still no target date for his return, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Chubb suffered an ACL tear of his own in Week 17 of the 2023 campaign, which prematurely ended what had been an exceedingly productive season – his first full year in South Beach after the ‘Fins acquired him via a midseason trade with the Broncos in 2022 – and which raised concern about his 2024 availability. He opened training camp on the PUP list, and he was unable to get back on the practice field over the remainder of the summer, so he stayed on PUP following final roster cuts (which required that he miss the first four games of the season).
When addressing the matter at the end of September, head coach Mike McDaniel did not suggest that there were any setbacks in Chubb’s recovery, saying only that, “Bradley had a pretty severe injury; he’s doing very well in his progression.” Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver did not offer much more by way of concrete details, saying, “Chubb is in all of our meetings – gives me the feel we will see him at some point this year” (via Jackson).
As of the time of this writing, Weaver’s defense actually ranks sixth in terms of yards allowed, although the unit is seventh-worst in terms of points allowed. The Dolphins have also tallied just seven sacks through the first four games – the third-lowest figure in the league – further underscoring how badly they miss Chubb.
Of course, even the immediate return of Chubb would not entirely cure what ails the 1-3 Miami outfit, which lost starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to yet another concussion in Week 2. The Dolphins will not get him back until Week 8 at the earliest, at which point the season could be difficult to salvage. However, if the backup passers can at least keep the team afloat, the prospective returns of Tagovailoa and Chubb would represent a major boost to a possible playoff push.
In the wake of the Phillips injury, the Dolphins plucked Tyus Bowser off the Seahawks’ taxi squad and worked out other veteran edge options this week.