The Miami Dolphins ended up ranked fourth in the NFL in total defense in 2024, and they did so with practically no contributions from two of their best pass rushers.
That has Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips excited about the possibilities for the pass rush next season, particularly after the emergence of rookie first-round pick Chop Robinson in the second half of the season.
Chubb was forced to watch from the sidelines all season as he worked his way back from his torn ACL, with the Dolphins deciding to keep him on PUP after his three-week practice window expired in December.
Phillips, meanwhile, made his way back into the lineup for the opener after tearing an Achilles tendon in November 2023, only to sustain a torn ACL in the Monday night loss against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4.
The season now over, Phillips and Chubb can look ahead to the possibilities of 2025 with them in the lineup along with Robinson.
“We have massive potential,” Phillips said Monday. “Obviously, we had Chop coming into his own as the season went on and building some confidence. Having another year for him under his belt, being able to get together all three of us this offseason and work together, we’re definitely going to make a lot of strides and build that cohesiveness together.
“I can’t wait. Like, I was so excited to get back on the field with him this year, but obviously, didn’t work out like that. Being able to come back, be on the field with him, be on the field with Chop, that front seven is going to be mean, as it always is.”
Chubb shared the sentiment, though he made sure to add Zach Sieler to the mix after the team MVP reached double digits in sacks for a second consecutive year.
“The sky’s the limit, man,” Chubb said. “The sky’s the limit just to see Chop, how he came along towards the end of the season, to see JP, how he’s working in his rehab and for me I’m going to the offseason with nothing but work on my mind. So I’m excited to see how those three minds, those three athletic, those three athletic bodies come together and make stuff happen. You got Zach in the middle, back-to-back 10 pieces, let’s not let that go unsaid it because that’s something that’s not done very often in this league, man. So having that piece as well is going to be huge.”
All this talk of 2025 is great, and it indeed is intriguing to think about the pass-rushing possibilities, assuming Chubb and Phillips both can return to form after their serious injuries, but there could be something in the way besides health.
Specifically, it has to do with Chubb’s contract.
While Robinson will be on the second year of his rookie deal and the Dolphins already have picked up Phillips’ fifth-year option for 2025, Chubb’s status is a bit trickier.
Chubb will be in the third year of the five-year extension he signed after the Dolphins acquired him from the Denver Broncos at the 2022 NFL Trading Deadline and his cap number for 2025 is an unsightly $29.3 million, per overthecap.com.
That’s tough to digest for a team already some $2.5 million OVER the cap for next season, and it’s one of the contracts the Dolphins figure to address in the offseason.
There’s no doubt the Dolphins would love bringing Chubb back, but probably not at that cap number. The Dolphins can save $20 million in cap space if they were to release Chubb with a post-June 1 designation, and it’s foolish to think that wouldn’t be in play if the two sides discuss and can’t agree on a renegotiated deal to lower his cap number.
But those are discussions for the future, though likely the near future.
The focus in 2024 was for Chubb, and Phillips as well, to work on working their way back to possibly return stronger and better than ever.
Both offered encouraging progress reports Monday.
“It’s honestly been really seamless,” Phillips said. “The surgery, I think I’m 12 weeks out now, it’s been building that strength back in the quad. Everything is going swimmingly, and I feel really good right now.
“It was brutal, but just like last year (after the Achilles tear), the mindset was an instant switch of knowing that I’m going to be stronger at the end of this. At the end of the day, nothing is going to break me down. I’m a fighter. I’ve fought my whole career. I know, with ACLs, it’s a pretty typical injury, honestly. It was really straightforward, in terms of the injury that I got, the operation I got. I have no doubt that I’ll be back full go.”
Chubb said he agreed with the Dolphins’ decision to keep him on PUP the whole year, indicating he wasn’t quite back to himself yet and that the end of the season featured games at Cleveland on a potentially frozen field and the always dangerous MetLife Stadium surface, but he’s confident he’ll be himself again in 2025.
“For sure,” he said. “100 percent, 100 percent, man. This offseason it kind of reminds me of going into the ’23 season having like, yeah, I didn’t play this year but being fully healthy going into the offseason not worried about having to rehab into offseason like just focus on getting better as a player, as a person and I’m really excited about how that’s gonna go down this offseason. And I’ve got great guys around me that I’m gonna train with and make sure we stay locked in throughout the whole thing so we grow together, and I’m excited about it.
“I’m very looking forward to the future because I’m very optimistic about how I’m going to be this offseason and where I’m going to be at next season.”
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