Jaelan Phillips will be back on the practice field Monday after he was activated by the Miami Dolphins off the PUP list.
Phillips, 25, suffered an Achilles tear during the Dolphins’ Week 12 game against the New York Jets last season on Nov. 24. Less than nine months later, he’ll be back on the field as he works to be ready for the 2024 season.
During a press conference Monday morning, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel praised the patience and discipline with which Phillips approached his recovery.
🎥 Mike McDaniel on Jaelan Phillips: “For a guy that has ambitions as he does, he wants to be great in the worst way… I thought he was going to be a number 1 violator of secretely overdoing what he was supposed to do.” (@MiamiDolphins) #GoFins pic.twitter.com/pi0oo4YmVb
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) August 12, 2024
“A guy that has ambitions as he does — he wants to be great in the worst way — it is a long-vision challenge to attack this injury appropriately,” McDaniel said. “That’s not something, by nature, that is totally his speed. He wants to fix the issue and go play.
“So to watch him diligently go about the process — I thought he was going to be a No. 1 violator of secretly overdoing what he was supposed to do. To be patient and to have the vision for his teammates, really — we’re all relying upon him coming back and him being able to, first find his footing from a health perspective, and then to help this team — I’ve been very proud of how he’s attacked that. And while doing so, doing things that leaders do.”
Phillips was stacking some of the best football of his career just prior to his injury with six sacks over his final five games. While he played only eight games in 2023, he still managed 6.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and an interception.
The Dolphins could use the pass rushing boost with Bradley Chubb still on the PUP list as he recovers from an ACL tear.
