The Miami Dolphins resorted to a reunion with an old friend to aid their pass rush earlier this summer, re-signing Emmanuel Ogbah after the abrupt retirement of former Pro Bowler Shaquil Barrett. Now they have an even bigger reinforcement, with starter Jaelan Phillips set to return from injury.
Miami activated the former first-round draft pick from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list Monday, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters, less than nine months after Phillips tore his Achilles.
Phillips opened up on his journey back to just getting on the field.
"It's just taught me a lot of patience," Phillips said in a transcript provided by the team. "Your body is going to be ready when your body is ready, so I've just been doing everything humanly possible to give my body what it needs and take the time to get after it.
"I have such a good training staff here and such a good strength staff, and we've been working our asses off for eight-and-a-half months now. I just, like I said, feel very fortunate to be back out here doing what I love again."
Typically, NFL players require anywhere from nine to 12 months of rehab following an Achilles tear before they can return to full speed, but Phillips had drawn rave reviews from coaches and teammates regarding an intense effort to reprise his role in the lineup. The former UCLA product was on pace for career numbers in 2023 before going down in Week 12 and spending the rest of the season on injured reserve.
Phillips first hinted to reporters early this offseason that he'd be ready for the start of the 2024 season. Had Phillips remained on PUP at the time of final roster cuts in late August, he would've been required to miss at least four games to open the season. Now activated, he's officially eligible to practice.
Phillips actually spoke to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers about what he had to go through to get back on the field in a short amount of time -- along with other veterans that suffered the injury.
"I checked in with him, he's checked in with me throughout the process," Phillips said. "His situation is a little different than mine, it's kind of not really comparable in that sense. Shaq [Barrett] was somebody I talked to, I talked to Kirk (Cousins), but again another quarterback, it's kind of a different situation. Vince Biegel is a guy who I played with. He did his Achilles a couple of times. Cam Akers when I was back in LA doing my rehab, he was there as well.
"I've just been picking people's brains and kind of the main takeaway I've gotten from everybody is that they feel 100%. They don't feel like they had to miss a step or whether it's a year or two years afterwards, they don't feel there is an injury there. That just definitely reassured me, like I said, the more I've been able to do, the less I've been thinking about the Achilles and the more I've been building confidence. It's feels great."
His return is surely welcome along the defensive front, where the Dolphins are still without fellow starting edge rusher Bradley Chubb, who's recovering from a Week 17 ACL tear. Miami is also without star interior defender Christian Wilkins, who left for the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency.
Phillips is eager to get back to playing football after enduring such a difficult moment last year.
"Probably the highest I've been in my NFL career, and then to be humbled just like that, it was devastating," Phillips said, via a transcript from the team. "But right when that happened, I remembered going to the shower and I was crying. I just told myself, like 'This is OK. I'm going to attack this. I'm going to get over this and this is going to make me stronger at the end of the day.' I really thanked God. I really said thank you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, because I know it's going to make me a monster."
Drafted 18th overall in 2021, Phillips has totaled 22 sacks and 24 tackles for loss in three NFL seasons.
