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Bradley Chubb

Dolphins Rumors: Chubb, Campbell, Minority Ownership

December 13th, 2024 at 9:19pm CST by Ely Allen

Dolphins veteran pass rusher Bradley Chubb has been quiet since opening the season on the team’s reserve/physically unable to perform list. We all knew it would be difficult for him to make a return in the 2024 season after suffering a torn ACL in a New Year’s Eve blowout loss, but we perhaps didn’t get the full story.

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Chubb not only tore his ACL but his meniscus and patellar tendon, as well. He’s been rehabbing in order to make a comeback within the calendar year, and though his practice window was opened last week, it doesn’t appear he’s ready quite yet. Per Jackson, head coach Mike McDaniel expects Chubb to be ready for a Week 16 return.

Here are a couple other rumors coming out of Miami:

  • Defensive lineman Calais Campbell may be 38 years old, but Father Time has not kept him from being a premier defender in the NFL. We’ve already heard that the Ravens made a late push at the trade deadline to bring him back to Baltimore, but according to Zak Keefer of The Athletic, five other teams reached out, as well. We already reported that Baltimore attempted to send a 2026 fifth-rounder for Campbell, but one team was willing to up the offer to a fourth-round pick, given a later-round pick in return — a flattering offer for such an aged veteran.
  • Back in October, we reported on the potential sale of a minority stake in the works for Miami. According to a team announcement, the minority, non-controlling interest sale was approved by the NFL at this week’s league meeting. The deal sends a 10 percent total stake in the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, and the Miami Grand Prix to private equity firm Ares Management and a three percent stake to Joe Tsai, owner of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb, Cameron Goode To Return To Practice

December 2nd, 2024 at 2:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Dolphins’ front seven is set to receive a pair of reinforcements in the near future. Both Bradley Chubb and Cameron Goode could be back in the lineup as early as Week 14.

Chubb and Goode will return to practice Wednesday, head coach Mike McDaniel said (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). That will start their respective 21-day activation windows; provided both players are moved to the active roster within that span, they will be eligible to suit up down the stretch. Chubb and Goode are on the reserve/PUP list, so bringing them back will not affect Miami’s remaining injured reserve activations.

Chubb suffered an ACL tear last December, making him one of several key defenders who was unavailable to the Dolphins during the playoffs. McDaniel recently expressed optimism the former Bronco would be able to play at some point in 2024, and today’s update is an encouraging one in that respect. Goode, meanwhile, was believed to be further ahead of Chubb in his rehab from a torn patellar tendon, but he will see his practice window opened at the same time.

Miami’s pass rush has been shorthanded all year, and Chubb’s absence has been key in that regard. The two-time Pro Bowler amassed 11 sacks last season, his first full one with the Dolphins. Expectations were high that he and Jaelan Phillips would be able to remain productive upon returning to health from their respective 2023 injuries. Phillips went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 4, though, which exacerbated Chubb’s absence.

The Dolphins sit 29th in the NFL with only 21 sacks on the year. Getting Chubb back in particular will help in that department (although expectations in his case will be tempered given his long time out of the fold), especially since Tyus Bowser is on injured reserve. Miami could have added a veteran presence along the edge in the form of Shaquil Barrett, but the team declined to activate him from the reserve/retired list last week.

Goode 26, was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft but he did not make his regular season debut until last year. The Cal product played 17 games in 2023, handling a heavy special teams workload. That will likely remain the case for the closing stages of the campaign once he is activated.

Dolphins Expect Bradley Chubb To Play This Season, Unsure On Shaq Barrett’s Status

November 26th, 2024 at 5:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Spending most of the season shorthanded at their edge-rushing positions, the Dolphins are moving closer to having a significantly deeper group. They have Shaquil Barrett reentering the picture, and the hope of Bradley Chubb coming back before season’s end is not lost.

Chubb has not practiced this season. The former top-five pick has been rehabbing an ACL tear sustained late in a blowout loss to the Ravens in Week 17 of last season. ACL recoveries are different, of course, but nine- to 12-month timetables regularly form for players in recovery. As of October, no timetable was in place for Chubb’s debut. Chubb is nearing 11 months since his New Year’s Eve injury, and time is obviously running out for the 2022 trade pickup to rejoin the Dolphins.

Mike McDaniel nevertheless said he is optimistic Chubb will suit up for the team this season. The Dolphins have lost Jaelan Phillips to another season-ending injury, a knee malady that occurred not long after the team picked up his fifth-year option. Phillips’ Achilles tear in 2023 preceded Chubb’s injury, and the younger Miami EDGE came back in time for Week 1. Chubb’s road back has been much longer.

Via an extension finalized shortly after the trade with the Broncos at the 2022 deadline, the Dolphins have Chubb signed through 2027. No fully guaranteed money remains on his deal beyond this season, but a $10MM injury guarantee is in place. That would only be relevant if Chubb cannot pass a physical by the start of the new league year March 12. As of now, that does not appear to be a Dolphins concern. They presumably also want to continue with Chubb beyond this season, as they traded a first-round pick to acquire him and would owe $27MM-plus in dead money in the event of a release.

The recoveries of Phillips and Chubb prompted the Dolphins to draft Chop Robinson in Round 1 and sign both Barrett and Emmanuel Ogbah. The latter, whom the Dolphins cut early this offseason, has returned to start 10 games. Barrett, 32, coming back could change the Dolphins’ plans. It caught McDaniel by surprise, and the third-year HC said (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson) he will need to discuss the matter with GM Chris Grier. Barrett and Chubb were teammates on the 2018 Broncos; they soon could reunite, but it does not appear the 2019 NFL sack leader is a lock to rejoin the Dolphins just yet.

Dolphins Designate G Isaiah Wynn For Return; Latest On OLB Bradley Chubb

November 13th, 2024 at 12:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins received a tough blow recently, with Austin Jackson set for season-ending knee surgery. That continued an injury-plagued stretch for the team up front, but after a season-saving win over the Rams, Miami received some better news on the O-line front.

Out for more than a year, Isaiah Wynn is finally ready to practice. The Dolphins will designate the would-be guard starter for return from the PUP list today, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Wynn re-signed with the team this offseason but has been down since October 2023 due to a quad injury.

A former tackle starter in New England, Wynn came to Miami with little momentum due to an unimpressive Patriots contract year that also involved injury trouble. The former first-round pick, who missed his entire rookie season due to injury, caught on with the Dolphins and won the team’s left guard job entering last season. Wynn held that gig until his quadriceps setback, which removed him from Miami’s O-line equation seven games into the season.

The Dolphins nevertheless re-signed Wynn this offseason, giving him a one-year deal worth $1.89MM. This marked a slight pay cut after Wynn played for $2.3MM in 2023. Miami bid farewell to multiple long-term starters in March, with Christian Wilkins and right guard Robert Hunt becoming two of this year’s highest-paid free agents. The Dolphins, who also released Xavien Howard and Jerome Baker to reach cap compliance, made low-level moves — in re-signing Wynn and Robert Jones — following the Hunt defection.

Wynn, 28, has already missed half of his first two seasons with the Dolphins. It will be interesting to see if he needs a lengthy ramp-up period before returning to Miami’s 53-man roster. Pro Football Focus did not rate Wynn especially well as Miami’s LG last season, but he started all seven games he played. The Dolphins have used Jones as their left guard in Wynn’s absence. Jones has started all nine games at that spot this season, while Liam Eichenberg has manned the RG job post-Hunt.

While Wynn is moving close to a return, Mike McDaniel said Bradley Chubb is not yet ready. Also spending all of this season on the reserve/PUP list, Chubb is rehabbing an ACL tear sustained in Week 17 of last season. McDaniel said (via Jackson) linebacker Cameron Goode, who suffered a patella tendon tear in Week 17, is a bit ahead of Chubb in terms of recovery.

This is turning into a lost season for Chubb, who is signed to a five-year, $110MM extension that runs through the 2027 season. The Dolphins, who also saw free agency addition Shaq Barrett retire, are down Jaelan Phillips for the year as well. Anything they get from Chubb will probably be considered a bonus, but with the playoffs still a possibility, Miami certainly could benefit from a late-season Chubb return.

No Target Date For Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb To Return

October 6th, 2024 at 11:03am CST by Rory Parks

The Dolphins recently placed edge defender Jaelan Phillips on season-ending injured reserve with a partially-torn ACL, which has magnified the absence of fellow pass rusher Bradley Chubb. While Chubb is now eligible to be activated off of the PUP list since four regular season games are in the books, there is still no target date for his return, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Chubb suffered an ACL tear of his own in Week 17 of the 2023 campaign, which prematurely ended what had been an exceedingly productive season – his first full year in South Beach after the ‘Fins acquired him via a midseason trade with the Broncos in 2022 – and which raised concern about his 2024 availability. He opened training camp on the PUP list, and he was unable to get back on the practice field over the remainder of the summer, so he stayed on PUP following final roster cuts (which required that he miss the first four games of the season).

When addressing the matter at the end of September, head coach Mike McDaniel did not suggest that there were any setbacks in Chubb’s recovery, saying only that, “Bradley had a pretty severe injury; he’s doing very well in his progression.” Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver did not offer much more by way of concrete details, saying, “Chubb is in all of our meetings – gives me the feel we will see him at some point this year” (via Jackson).

As of the time of this writing, Weaver’s defense actually ranks sixth in terms of yards allowed, although the unit is seventh-worst in terms of points allowed. The Dolphins have also tallied just seven sacks through the first four games – the third-lowest figure in the league – further underscoring how badly they miss Chubb.

Of course, even the immediate return of Chubb would not entirely cure what ails the 1-3 Miami outfit, which lost starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to yet another concussion in Week 2. The Dolphins will not get him back until Week 8 at the earliest, at which point the season could be difficult to salvage. However, if the backup passers can at least keep the team afloat, the prospective returns of Tagovailoa and Chubb would represent a major boost to a possible playoff push.

In the wake of the Phillips injury, the Dolphins plucked Tyus Bowser off the Seahawks’ taxi squad and worked out other veteran edge options this week.

Dolphins Reduce Roster To 53 Players

August 27th, 2024 at 9:42pm CST by Ben Levine

After two-straight Wild Card Round losses, the Dolphins are hoping to take another step forward in 2024. The team started prepping for a crucial campaign today, as they set their 53-man roster by making the following moves:

Released:

Waived:

  • LB David Anenih
  • WR Je’Quan Burton
  • S Jordan Colbert
  • DT Robert Cooper
  • WR Erik Ezukanma
  • WR Mike Harley Jr.
  • OL Chasen Hines
  • RB Zander Horvath
  • LB Dequan Jackson
  • WR Jadon Janke
  • CB Isaiah Johnson
  • OL Matthew Jones
  • CB Jason Maitre
  • OT Bayron Matos
  • WR Kyric McGowan
  • DT Leonard Payne
  • S Mark Perry
  • TE Hayden Rucci

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the expectation is that long snapper Blake Ferguson will end up re-upping with the Dolphins, with his release solely being for roster machinations. The former sixth-round pick has spent his entire career in Miami, with the special teamer appearing in 67 games.

Nik Needham‘s stay in Miami has come to an end after five seasons. The former UDFA started 27 of his 61 appearances with the organization, although the majority of his production came in his first three seasons with the Dolphins. Between 2019 and 2021, the defensive back hauled in six interceptions, but after returning from a 2022 season-ending injury, he only got into 71 defensive snaps in 2023.

There was some hope that Neville Gallimore could provide the Dolphins with some defensive line depth when he caught on with the organization. The former third-round pick never clicked in Dallas, but he still got into 52 games in his four years with the organization. He collected four sacks and nine QB hits over the span, and he twice managed to top 400 defensive snaps in a campaign.

Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb, Isaiah Wynn To Begin Season On PUP List

August 26th, 2024 at 8:43am CST by Adam La Rose

As roster cuts take place, teams around the league also need to make decisions on players beginning the season on the reserve/PUP list. That designation confirms an absence of at least four weeks, and it will be used on several Dolphins in 2024.

Head coach Mike McDaniel said on Monday (via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe) that edge rusher Bradley Chubb, offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn and linebacker Cameron Goode will begin the year on the reserve/PUP list. A final decision in the case of wideout Odell Beckham Jr. has yet to be made, McDaniel added. The other three players’ absences will be felt nonetheless.

Chubb suffered an ACL tear on New Year’s Eve, ending his first full season with the Dolphins. The two-time Pro Bowler has yet to return to practice, so today’s update comes as little surprise. Jaelan Phillips – who went down with an Achilles tear in 2023 – was able to get back on the field earlier this month, meaning he is in contention to be available for Week 1. Having Phillips in place at the start of the year would help compensate for Chubb’s absence, but the latter will be counted on to produce when healthy. Chubb has four years left on his contract.

Wynn inked a one-year deal with the Dolphins last season, one in which he was limited to seven games by a quadriceps injury. His level of play when on the field earned him a new Miami deal, and the former Patriots first-rounder is expected to serve as the team’s starting left guard when available. After an offseason featuring a slower recovery process than expected, Miami will need to turn to other linemen along the interior while also being without a depth option at tackle.

Goode joined the Dolphins as a seventh-rounder in 2022. The 26-year-old did not see any game action during his rookie campaign, spending the year on Miami’s practice squad. Last season, he suited up for all 17 regular season contests, logging a heavy workload on special teams. His absence will not have a major defensive impact, but the Dolphins’ third phase units will be shorthanded.

Beckham will not practice this week as he continues to recover from an unknown injury. Naming him to the 53-man roster after little to no time in team drills would carry notable risk given his status as the team’s No. 3 receiver, but a reserve/PUP designation would leave Miami’s receiver room shorthanded. That will already be the case at numerous positions given today’s news.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/18/24

July 18th, 2024 at 8:24pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

As a reminder, players who land on the physically unable to perform list or the non-football injury list can be activated at any time during training camp or the preseason. If players remain on either of those two lists following initial 53-man rosters, they’ll be forced to sit out the first four games of the 2024 season.

While the majority of the Dolphins’ injuries were expected, Isaiah Wynn‘s placement on PUP is a bit of a surprise. The offensive lineman continues to recover from a quadriceps injury that ended his 2023 campaign in October, but his rehab is apparently taking longer than expected. After mostly playing offensive tackle to begin his career, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the former first-round pick is expected to be the “front-runner” at left guard once he’s healthy enough to see the field. Jackson also passed along that Salvon Ahmed‘s issue isn’t related to his season-ending foot injury from last season and is a result of a “minor medical issue.” The RB is firmly on the roster bubble heading into training camp.

Dolphins Rumors: OBJ, Chubb, Wilson

March 20th, 2024 at 9:04pm CST by Ely Allen

The Dolphins’ efforts to bring in another receiver have taken an interesting turn today. According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is planning to visit Miami tomorrow. Miami Herald writer Barry Jackson has been reporting on the Dolphins’ interest in the veteran wideout.

The team’s wide receiving corps will continue to be dominated by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Miami re-signed return specialist Braxton Berrios, and a tweet today from River Cracraft seems to indicate that the team was able to re-sign the depth piece, as well. Over two years with the Dolphins, Cracraft was 18 catches for 223 yards and three touchdowns.

After that, the only available receivers on the roster are Erik Ezukanma, Anthony Schwartz, Braylon Sanders, and Mathew Sexton. The team has inquired with a couple of receivers on the free agent market, and their inquiries into Beckham appear to have resulted in tomorrow’s visit.

Last year with Baltimore, Beckham didn’t quite reach the heights of his early-career success, but he still looked like himself at times as he received for his highest yardage total since 2019. He also found himself taking a backseat in targets to rookie Zay Flowers, so there shouldn’t be much of an issue with losing targets to Hill and Waddle. Tomorrow will determine if Beckham is willing to join the fray in Miami on a reasonable deal.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of South Beach:

  • The Dolphins were able to agree to a restructured deal with pass rusher Bradley Chubb today, per ESPN’s Field Yates. The team converted $13.75MM of Chubb’s 2024 base salary into a signing bonus while adding a void year to the end of his contract. The move frees up $11MM of cap space for a team that may be looking to add a weapon like Beckham in the near future.
  • Running back Jeff Wilson also reportedly agreed to a restructured deal, according to Jackson. Wilson has accepted a pay cut in 2024 from $2.6MM to $1.13MM, helping to lower his cap hit by $1.32MM. In exchange, the team added $400K of guarantees to his deal and made available a $100K workout bonus, a $255K incentive if he is active for every game, and a $550K incentive based on combined rushing and receiving yards and team performance.
  • In addition to the two restructures above, Jackson suggests that Miami could attempt to open up some cap space by signing Hill to a new extension or giving quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a long-term contract.
  • Lastly, Jackson reports that former Seahawks offensive guard Phil Haynes visited Miami on Monday. With veteran guard being listed as an item on the team’s wish list, the Haynes visit makes plenty of sense, though he departed before the two sides could come together on an agreement. Haynes earned the starting right guard job for Seattle last year before suffering a season-ending toe injury after eight games.

Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb Suffers Torn ACL

January 1st, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Ely Allen

JANUARY 1: An MRI confirmed the worst in Chubb’s case. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports he did indeed tear his ACL late in Sunday’s loss, meaning his season is over. Miami’s Week 18 division-deciding matchup against the Bills will leave the team significantly shorthanded along the edge with Chubb and Phillips out of the picture. The Dolphins’ pass rush in the postseason will likewise be notably thin.

DECEMBER 31: The Dolphins may have missed out on an opportunity to move into the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed in the AFC today in a one-sided loss to the Ravens, but they still have plenty left to play for this year, having qualified for the playoffs and remained in contention to win the AFC East. That’s why it was so disheartening to see a star defender in outside linebacker Bradley Chubb go down with non-contact injury late in the fourth quarter of today’s game.

The injury occurred during a garbage-time possession late in the team’s decisive loss. With the Ravens’ backups in on offense, Chubb pursued veteran running back Melvin Gordon behind the line of scrimmage. When Gordon performed a juke move in an attempt to evade Chubb, the veteran defender’s momentum seemed to disagree with his foot placement, sending him to the ground, clutching his right knee. The Dolphins’ sideline immediately rushed to his side and eventually carted him off the field.

It was unfortunately a predictable assumption, but word now is that the Dolphins are fearing a torn ACL for Chubb, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports. As is the normal procedure, Chubb will undergo an MRI tomorrow morning in order to determine the severity of today’s injury. If it is indeed an ACL tear, Chubb will obviously out for the remainder of the Dolphins’ season and their playoff run and could also miss the start of the 2024 NFL season.

Chubb was in the middle of what many considered to be a Pro Bowl-worthy season. After failing to reach double-digit sacks in the four seasons since his rookie year, Chubb had already tallied 11.0 sacks in 2023. He paired that with 11 tackles for loss, 22 quarterback hits, and six forced fumbles, which is a career-high and currently leads the league. If Chubb is unable to play from here on out, Miami will be heading into the playoffs without their top two pass rushers. The Dolphins defense has operated without third-year outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips after the 24-year-old suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a Week 12 win over the Jets. Those are two big blows for a team that has thrived with its pass rush, which ranks second in the league in sacks.

Still, part of the team’s success rushing the passer comes from having multiple contributors to their pass rush. With disruptive interior defenders like Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler, as well as versatile defenders like Andrew Van Ginkel and Emmanuel Ogbah, the Dolphins should still be able to generate some pressure in the weeks to come.

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