Jaelan Phillips - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On Emmanuel Ogbah’s Future With The Dolphins

October 7th, 2023 at 9:40am CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like Emmanuel Ogbah‘s stint with the Dolphins will end after the 2023 campaign. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes, the organization is expected to release the edge rusher following the season.

The Dolphins are eyeing a cap crunch next offseason, and they’ll need to make some difficult decisions up and down their roster. Fortunately for the front office, moving on from Ogbah’s untenable cap hold is one of the easier decision to make.

The veteran is currently attached to a $17.8MM cap hit in 2024, and the Dolphins would be left with only $2MM in dead cap if they let him go. Ogbah inked a four-year, $65MM extension with the Dolphins during the 2022 offseason.

The former Browns second-round pick had two productive seasons to begin his Miami tenure, collecting 18 sacks between the 2020 and 2021 campaign. His 2022 season was limited to only nine games thanks to a triceps issue, but he wasn’t very productive before suffering the season-ending injury, compiling just one sack. He’s seen time in all four games this season but has been limited to only 27 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.

With Andrew Van Ginkel also set to hit free agency, the Dolphins are eyeing a 2024 edge corps that consists of former first-round pick Jaelan Phillips and veteran Bradley Chubb. After trading a first-round pick to Denver for Chubb, the Dolphins inked the star edge rusher to an $110MM extension. However, the Pro Bowler hasn’t lived up to his deal during his time in Miami, with Chubb collecting only 3.5 sacks in 12 games with the organization. As Jackson notes, the Dolphins would have a tough time moving off Chubb’s contract thanks in part to his fully-guaranteed $19.75MM base salary.

Dolphins Sign First-Round DE Jaelan Phillips

June 9th, 2021 at 1:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Dolphins have their other first-round pick under wraps. After quickly signing Jaylen Waddle in mid-May, they’ve now inked the 18th overall pick from that weekend.

Miami has signed defensive end Jaelan Phillips to his rookie contract, the team announced Wednesday. A Miami product, Phillips won’t have to move very far to start his pro career. A decorated recruit out of high school, Phillips started his college career at UCLA and was very highly regarded. Unfortunately concussions and other injuries caused him to medically retire from football in 2018, before he reversed course and returned to play at Miami last year.

Phillips was a second-team All-American for the Hurricanes last season, as he finished with 15.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks in 10 games. Scouts were very high on his talent, although there were naturally some concerns about his medicals.

Clearly teams felt comfortable enough, as he was a consensus first-rounder entering the draft. It’s often been stated that had it not been for his medical issues at UCLA, he would’ve been a top-ten pick.

The Dolphins don’t have a ton at edge rusher after cutting Kyle Van Noy this offseason, so Phillips should see a lot of immediate playing time if he’s ready. Miami now has four of their seven picks locked up.

Dolphins Select Miami DL Jaelan Phillips At No. 18

April 29th, 2021 at 9:34pm CST by Ben Levine

Jaelan Phillips won’t have to make a major (literal) move from college to the pros. The Dolphins have selected the Miami defensive lineman with the No. 18 pick.

Standing at 6-foot-5, the 286-pound prospect is one of the most intimidating prospects in the draft. He earned his early-round draft stock thanks to a breakout 2020 campaign that saw him finish with eight sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss (after having compiled 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss through his first two collegiate seasons). His performance in 2020 earned him second-team All-American and second-team All-ACC honors, and it also caused his draft stock to rise.

Phillips has experience on the edge and playing with hands on the ground, and this versatility will surely be utilized by his new squad. A brief injury history resulted in him being ranked lower on some pundits’ pre-draft rankings, but the defensive lineman has as much potential as any of the draft’s top defensive prospects. The Dolphins front office is presumably thrilled to add a player of Phillips’ caliber at this point in the draft.

The Dolphins were busy prior to the draft (via trades), but it seems like their night is probably over. Miami is currently armed with four more picks in the draft:

Round 2: Nos. 36 (from Texans), 50
Round 3: No. 81
Round 5: No. 156 (from Cowboys through Eagles)
Round 7: Nos. 231 (from Texans), 244 (from Washington)