Phillips Ready for Action

The Miami Dolphins will welcome back their standout pass rusher

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips (15) works out during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins are back on the practice field Monday with one major addition from last week.

Jaelan Phillips is back.

Head coach Mike McDaniel revealed before practice that Phillips would be activated off the physically unable to perform list, a little less than nine months after he sustained a torn Achilles injury in the Black Friday victory against the New York Jets.

The welcome news actually wasn't necessarily shocking based on the way Phillips looked like working on his own during practices last week.

Phillips isn't likely to do much work in his first few days and it's possible, if not likely, he'll be kept out of the last two preseason games, but at least the Dolphins now can find comfortable that he'll be available for the start of regular season.

"For me, what I got to learn about Jalen Phillips is that he's a very capable, strong learner because this was a test of internal fortitude coming at Jalen," McDaniel said. "He's always been an impact player but he was right when he got injured he was kind of there was momentum swinging in a positive regard towards his conviction of how to play his position. He was feeling a different level of confidence and then for a guy that has ambitions as he does. He wants to be great in the worst way it is a long vision challenge to attack this injury appropriately and not something that by nature is totally his speed. He wants to fix the issue and go play.

"So to watch him diligently go about the process and I thought he was going to be a No. 1 violator of secretly overdoing what he was supposed to do. To be patient and to have the vision for his teammates really and we're all relying upon him coming back and him being able to first find his footing from a health perspective and then be able to contribute to this team. I've been very proud of how he's attacked that and while doing so doing things that leaders ... you feel his presence as a teammate."

Along with Phillips, the Dolphins also will welcome back wide receiver Erik Ezukanma, who was out all of last week with an undisclosed injury. The 2022 fourth-round pick is trying to earn a roster spot after missing most of last season with a neck injury.

OTHER INJURY UPDATES

McDaniel also said that wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. wasn't quite ready to join Phillips in coming off IR and that he should be considered week to week.

Tight end Tanner Conner also will be kept out of practice the next couple of days with the injury he sustained during the 20-13 victory against the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason opener.

Phillips' counterpart on the other end of the defensive line (or on the edge, if you prefer), Bradley Chubb, also remains on PUP along with Beckham and offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn.

There's no timetable for when Chubb or Wynn will be ready, and at least for Chubb the feeling all along was that his recovery would longer than that of Phillips.