Jaelan Phillips is officially back, but should he be?

When is the right time to bring the star pass rusher back to the starting lineup?

As the Miami Dolphins prepare to open the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday, the injury status of star pass rusher Jaelan Phillips has reached its endpoint.

Phillips exited the PUP list last month and got cleared to take the field. Even though Phillips is coming off a major injury, he looks sharp. Looking forward to getting back on the field, he spoke with reporters yesterday about what’s next:

Getting Phillips back in the fold before the season starts is about the best-case scenario the Dolphins could’ve hoped for, but I question if he should play this Sunday.

The Dolphins pass rusher suffered a torn Achilles last year during the Black Friday game against the New York Jets and vowed to get on the field as soon as possible. The usual turnaround time for an Achilles tear is nine to twelve months, and we’re at eight months, and some change.

Putting Phillips on the field Sunday isn’t reckless behavior, but it’s still the early side of the recovery time, and there’s no reason to rush him out there the first chance you get. The Dolphins went into the offseason knowing they’d be without Phillips and Bradley Chubb for some time and made moves accordingly to fill the early season void.

The Dolphins spent a first and a fifth-round pick on pass rushers Chop Robinson and Mohamed Kamara, along with bringing back Emmanuel Ogbah to hold down the fort at the beginning of the season. All three can play, and at least two of them should be formidable enough to have a consistent pass rush, unlike having to sign guys coming off the couch like the Dolphins had to do at the end of 2023.

I know that the Dolphins could come out tomorrow and say they decided Phillips isn’t playing, but he’s first on the official depth chart released earlier this week, so I have to go in thinking they expect him to start.

That’s about as official as it gets regarding a week-one status. He’s starting on the depth chart, and head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed Phillip’s status yesterday and outlined what limitations he might have:

“You got to manage it in some regard. I think we’re getting closer to what that will be nailed down to with maybe 15-20 reps to spare. Who knows? But regardless, we also have to keep in mind that it’ll be his first game back, we have a game four days later and just being able to manage professional athletes.”

I don’t understand the decision, but I’m not at the facility daily or monitoring how Phillips has progressed. All I can say as someone on the outside looking in is that if he’s on the field Sunday, it’ll be one of the fastest recovery times from this type of injury in my lifetime, and it’s something fans should worry about rather than celebrate.

I would agree on risking it if it’s the end of the year and the season is on the line, but it’s week one. Pass rushers were added to pick up the slack for the first few games, so let them. There is much more to lose than to gain playing him right now.

Keep him out until week three, but that’s just me.