Miami Dolphins agree to 5-year extension with new LB Bradley Chubb. ‘It’s a new beginning’
Less than 48 hours after agreeing to a trade for outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, the Dolphins reached an agreement on an extension with the Pro Bowl pass rusher.
The team on Thursday announced they signed Chubb to a new five-year deal that keeps him in Miami through the 2027 season.
According to ESPN, the contract is worth $110 million, can reach $111.25 million with incentives and includes $63.2 million guaranteed. The new deal makes Chubb the sixth-highest-paid edge rusher with an average annual value of $22 million. Only the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby ($23.5 million), Browns’ Myles Garrett ($25 million), Chargers’ Joey Bosa ($27 million) and Khalil Mack ($23.5 million) and Steelers’ T.J. Watt ($28 million) are making more per year.
Chubb’s guaranteed money only trails Bosa ($78 million) and Watt ($80 million).
“It feels great,” Chubb said Thursday in his first comments to local reporters. “It feels great just to get around the guys and get around coach [Mike] McDaniel and see the culture that’s already here. There are a lot of leaders on this team. I’m just glad I could come in and fall to a good position where guys are winning, guys care and we can get after this playoff run and Super Bowl and accomplish all the goals we go out there and fight for.”
The Dolphins on Tuesday sent the Denver Broncos a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick as well as running back Chase Edmonds for Chubb, adding a premier player to a roster they believe is ready to compete for a Super Bowl amid a 5-3 start to the season.
Chubb, as well as running back Jeff Wilson Jr., whom the team also acquired in a trade deadline day deal, arrived in South Florida early Wednesday morning and later participated in their first practice.
General manager Chris Grier on Wednesday said the expectation was to come to an agreement “shortly” on a new deal with the 26-year-old Chubb. By Thursday morning, the contract had been signed.
Chubb said he noticed his name appearing in trade rumors after the Broncos arrived in Denver from their Week 8 game in London. Once Broncos general manager George Paton informed Chubb he was getting traded to the Dolphins, he “zoned out” and his mind wandered to the logistics of getting settled in South Florida with his new team.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Chubb said. “It’s been a lot of highs and lows in these past couple days, because you never want to get traded from a team that you get drafted by and started your career with. But at the end of the day, man, God has a bigger plan than I could ever imagine. So, I’m glad I’m here now.”
With Chubb signed for an additional five years, the Dolphins have a pass rush duo with him and second-year linebacker Jaelan Phillips they believe will be one of the better tandems in the league for years to come.
Chubb has 5.5 sacks this season and 26 since entering the league as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 Draft. He ranks third in ESPN’s pass block win rate, defined as how often players beat their blocker within 2.5 seconds. Chubb was named to the Pro Bowl in 2020 after a 7.5-sack season.
Phillips, 23, led the team with three sacks until the trade for Chubb. The No. 18 overall pick in the 2021 Draft, Phillips ranks tied for ninth in pass block win rate. His 8.5 sacks last season were a Dolphins rookie record.
“I think it’s awesome,” Phillips said Wednesday. “I think the more pieces we have on the defense, the more successful we can be. So it’s great to have a guy like that. I’ll definitely lean into him and try to get some advice with pass rushing and stuff like that. but yeah, happy to have him here, for sure.”
With his former No. 55 taken by inside linebacker Jerome Baker, Chubb walked onto the Dolphins’ practice field Wednesday in a No. 2 jersey as he prepares to make his team debut against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. He acknowledged that of the available options, “it was the coolest-looking number.”
But as his new journey started to sink in, Chubb decided to add meaning to the number.
“It’s part two of my life,” Chubb said. “My whole adult life, I’ve been in Denver and it’s a part two. It’s a new beginning. It’s a new everything. It’s kind of like the part two for me, so that’s what I’m putting my focus towards now.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 8:01 AM.
