Bradley Chubb won’t make his return to the field in 2024, Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel announced Tuesday.
The Dolphins pass rusher suffered a devastating knee injury in Week 17 of the 2023 season, which included tears of his ACL, patellar tendon, and meniscus. He began the 2024 season on the PUP list, and the team activated his 21-day practice window earlier this month, opening the door for a potential late season return.
Miami had until Wednesday to move him to the active roster and elected to keep him out of action, guaranteeing his season is over before it began.
“With the deadline being tomorrow, we won’t activate him,” McDaniel said. “It came down to this: trying to take away reps from guys that are playing well. Bradley takes that serious. He’s gone after the whole process so that he can be Bradley Chubb for this football team and he knows what that looks like.
“He’s been very patient in the process, very open-minded, had growth as the process went, but ultimately, we all decided that we didn’t think he’d be able to be the player that he expects, that we all expect. He just needed a little bit more time that, unfortunately, the season couldn’t offer us. … He was disappointed, but he also understands the big picture at stake.”
But the Dolphins may be disinclined to bring the pass rusher back in 2025. Despite not appearing in a game, his contract will still accrue another season, putting him on the books for a $29.3 million salary cap hit next year — second on the team behind only Tua Tagovailoa’s $39.4 million hit.
By releasing Chubb with a post-June 1 designation, the team could recoup $20.2 million in space. That’s no small sum for a team near the bottom of the NFL in cap room for 2025. And with the duo of Jaelan Phillips and fast rising first-round rookie Chop Robinson, the Dolphins may be inclined to move on from Chubb.
Then again, the team could also save as much as $13.8 million by restructuring Chubb’s contract. Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver told reporters that he’s been dreaming up ways to someday use Chubb, Phillips, and Robinson in tandem.
Chubb, 28, is a two-time Pro Bowler who had 11 sacks in 2023 before his season-ending knee injury.
