Dolphins Edge Bradley Chubb will remain on the physically unable to perform list at the start of the regular season, HC Mike McDaniel announced Monday. That's not a surprise, as Chubb continues to work back from a late December ACL tear. But it confirms that he'll miss at least the first four regular-season games.
HC Mike McDaniel earlier this month on Chubb's return: "No timeline; making sure that he has no setbacks. So he's progressing and we will (be) making sure that when he's on the field, he's there to stay. So he's doing a great job understanding his role to the team. Very important player for this team."
Miami looks unlikely to sport a bothersome pass rush early this season. The Dolphins recently got Edge Jaelan Phillips back on the field. But he's coming off an Achilles' tear and isn't a great bet to reach 100% effectiveness early this season.
Chubb's absence -- plus the retirement of Edge Shaq Barrett earlier this summer, after he had signed with Miami -- leaves a pretty big hole at the position.
Miami must turn to some combo of Emmanuel Ogbah, rookie Chop Robinson, and camp breakout Quinton Bell while awaiting Chubb's return.
Ogbah has some productive times in his past but turns 31 this November and totaled just 6.5 sacks over the past two years combined.
Robinson is a first-round pick with elite speed for the position. But he's also tiny for the position. At the Combine, he checked in with:
Robinson figures to top out as a part-timer, especially to start his career.
Bell has emerged as a feel-good camp story in Miami. But he has also played just 61 total defensive snaps since hitting the league as a Raiders seventh-round pick in 2019.
The biggest winners here are clearly Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen, Geno Smith, and Will Levis.
Those are the first four QBs Miami will face in the regular season. All four games carry shootout potential.
I knocked five games off Chubb's preseason projection. He has sat low in the IDP rankings since the beginning, though, and shouldn't factor into the draft plans for most IDP leagues.
Whenever Chubb does return to the field, he'll still need to prove he can be effective.
His position relies heavily on short-area explosiveness and change of direction -- each of which are challenged by a recovering knee.
Chubb tore his left ACL back in Week 4 of 2019, his second season in the league. (This time it's the right ACL.) He returned to play 14 games and tally 7.5 sacks the following season.
Of course, there was a 13-week difference in the timing of the two injuries. We'll keep an eye on his return this time.
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