Chubb tore the ACL, meniscus and patellar tendon in his right knee on Dec. 31, 2023 and has not played since. He began this season on the physically unable to perform list but returned to practice earlier this month. As the activation deadline approached, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Chubb and the team agreed he wasn’t ready to contribute at the level he’s accustomed to.
The team expects Chubb to return in 2025.
“He had been very patient in the process, very open-minded, and he grew as the process went on,” McDaniel said. “But in the end, we all decided that we didn’t think he would be able to be the player that we expected, that we all expected. We just needed a little more time that, unfortunately, the season couldn’t offer us. So he’s still committed and felt disappointed, but he also understands the bigger picture at play and will make sure that when he’s on the field for the Dolphins, everyone feels like the player he knows he is.”
McDaniel said it was “unknown” if Chubb would be able to return when the team opened its activation window, but that it was a close enough decision to give it a try. While the Dolphins’ playoff chances have remained slim through the second half of the season, McDaniel said the decision not to activate him was made “regardless of where we are with the season.”
While all parties are disappointed not to see Chubb on the field this season, McDaniel said even reaching this point is an important milestone and removes some uncertainty from the upcoming offseason.
“It was a major injury that required an absolute calendar year of stress and work to get to that position,” he said. “And I don’t think it’s the process, even though we won’t see it this year, it was very beneficial to be able to overcome that. Now, you’re not waiting in the offseason with, ‘What’s it going to be like?’ … He knows where he is right now and he knows he has a little more time to build to get to his level of play and his level of execution.”
Since Week 5, Miami has been without its other top pass rusher in Jaelan Phillips, who tore his ACL and was placed on season-ending injured reserve. In his place came 2024 first-round pick Chop Robinson, who has been one of the NFL’s best defensive players regardless of experience over the past two months.
Robinson’s six sacks are tied for the rookie lead and are 2.5 shy of Phillips’ rookie franchise record set in 2021. Since taking over as the full-time starter in Week 5, Robinson also has the third-highest pressure rate highest and the fifth best pass. quick win rate in the NFL.
“What’s been memorable about their year is the talk of the anti-rookie wall,” McDaniel said. “He really started to impact the game as he learned more. And I think that speaks to his daily diligence and his love for football, because even some of the best competitors can fade during the month of December, simply because they haven’t. played eight weeks more than ever before in football.
“I think he’s been what we expected. However, there are parts of his game preparation and his ability to compete against veterans left and right that we have hope for. But he’s met or maybe exceeded some of those expectations in that way.” .
The Dolphins acquired Chubb in a trade midway through the 2022 season and immediately signed him to a five-year, $110 million extension. Phillips is also eligible for an extension, but has suffered season-ending injuries in consecutive years after rupturing an Achilles tendon in 2023.
Chubb, Robinson and Phillips have yet to take the field together at the same time, but they could form a formidable trio if healthy next season. As of 2022, all three players rank in the top 10 among pass rushers in both pass rush rate and pass rush win rate.
