‘So happy for him.’ Bradley Chubb’s return injects a bit of excitement into Dolphins
Chop Robinson always looked up to Bradley Chubb.
During his predraft training, the rookie edge rusher sent Chubb a direct message via Instagram in which he called the two-time Pro Bowler the “GOAT” Chubb has even been super instrumental in Robinson’s development process even as the veteran recovered from a torn ACL. But finally getting to practice alongside Chubb? Now that was “a dream come true,” Robinson said.
“It was crazy,” the Miami Dolphins outside linebacker added after Wednesday’s practice. “I actually told him when we were warming up ‘Damn, like I’m actually on the field with you now.’”
Having started the 2024 season on the physically unable to perform list list, Chubb practiced Wednesday for the first time in nearly a year. The star edge rusher looked ecstatic to be back, hitting the sled with a particular ferocity and shedding blocks from tackle dummies as if they were inferior linemen. Chubb even hit a few dance moves as the speaker blared “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” and “Flight’s Booked.”
“It felt good bro,” Chubb told another player in the locker room after practice.
Chubb’s sheer excitement and energy was infectious. The edge rusher hadn’t practiced since a Week 17 right ACL tear in 2023 kept him sidelined for most of this season. Just to see Chubb work so diligently to get back was an inspiration to some.
“It was really good to have him back outside,” fellow edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah said of Chubb. “Just think about it: you got hurt. A bad injury. You finally get to play football again. He’s just excited to back out there and I’m so happy for him.”
The hope is that Chubb will help boost a defense that ranks second to last in sacks. He certainly looked good, too.
“Absolutely,” edge rusher Quinton Bell said when asked if Chubb appeared game ready. “He’s fired up. It’s been so long since he has played. It’s a blessing to get him back out there with the team.”
Injuries have decimated the Dolphins’ edge rusher unit. Jaelan Phillips, who already missed a significant portion of the 2023 season with a ruptured Achilles, played just four games before he tore his ACL. Tyus Bowser missed the Thanksgiving game against the Green Bay Packers with a knee and calf injury. Although there’s a slim chance that the star edge rusher suits up Sunday against the New York Jets, coach Mike McDaniel didn’t necessarily rule Chubb out.
“I wouldn’t take an opportunity away from someone that was ready for it especially when they dive so deep to get the opportunity,” McDaniel said. “So that’s why I kind of just let it play out literally not for any sort of competitive advantage or whatever; I’m going to let the players play, watch the film of themselves, go back to practice again with pads on, do the same thing again.”
Added McDaniel: “My expectation is that that takes time. It is the first football practice in a year. So I’m not expecting anything, but you don’t rule it out just because. Bottom line is [you] want them and their earned opportunity when they feel ready to execute what’s asked of them and that they’re able to play.
While Chubb’s return garnered most of the attention, the Dolphins also got another edge rusher back in Cameron Goode. The 2022 seventh-round pick had also been sidelined for nearly a year as he recovered from a ruptured patella tendon that occurred during Week 18 of the 2023 season. McDaniel, however, didn’t really offer up much clarification on his status either.
“With those two guys, such a great relationship with them and I trust them that I won’t have to — we’ll be able to talk through it and be responsible because they’re competitors but they also understand that they want to be right, too, for the team,” McDaniel said.
