Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips suffered a torn Achilles during the second half of last season, putting his status for 2024 up in the air.
However, Phillips says that his recovery has been going very well.
“I’m feeling great. I’ve been attacking the rehab,” Phillips said, via Scott Salomon of Mike Farrell Sports. “It’s been a tedious process. You learn a lot about yourself through times like this. Adversity makes us stronger.”
Phillips sustained the injury in Week 12 of the 2023 campaign, right in the middle of a torrid stretch from the pass rusher.
At the time, the 25-year-old has logged at least one sack in five straight games.
On the season as a whole, he played eight games and totaled 43 tackles, 6.5 sacks and an interception.
Phillips, who played his collegiate football at both UCLA and the University of Miami, was selected by the Dolphins with the 18th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
He appeared in every contest during his rookie year, finishing with 42 tackles, 8.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. He once again participated in every game in 2022, registering 61 stops, seven sacks, a forced fumble and a couple of fumble recoveries.
The Dolphins’ defense is a major question mark heading into 2024
Miami’s defense could be a point of weakness for the club in 2024, and some of that is due to injuries.
Not only is Phillips rehabbing a major injury, but edge rusher Bradley Chubb suffered a torn ACL late last year and won’t be back until midseason at the earliest.
Plus, the Dolphins lost numerous key defenders in free agency, chief among them being defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who signed a megadeal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Even with all of their pieces in tow in 2023, it’s not like Miami was a stalwart defensively as it was. The Dolphins ranked 10th in yards allowed, but 22nd in scoring defense.
Miami was able to mask its rather pedestrian defense with an explosive offense, but the offense faded a bit during the second half of the campaign, resulting in the Dolphins going just 2-3 over their last five regular-season games and ultimately losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
We’ll see if the Dolphins can survive all of the losses they have experienced on the defensive side of the ball.
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