Fins’ Phillips suffers season-ending torn Achilles

Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPNNov 25, 2023, 01:25 PM ET
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Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips has suffered a torn Achilles and will miss the rest of the season, head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed Saturday.

Phillips left Friday’s 34-13 win over the New York Jets after he went down with the noncontact injury late in the fourth quarter. He was carted off to the locker room.

Phillips’ absence will presumably lead to increased roles for linebacker Andrew van Ginkel, who has four sacks this season, and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who had 18 total sacks in 2020 and 2021 before signing a $65 million contract in the 2022 offseason.

“You don’t necessarily replace Jaelan Phillips,” McDaniel said. “But you can have guys that are fully capable to step up and kind of get his production through different ways. We are fortunate enough to have some depth.

“You don’t necessarily replace him, but it just gives different people opportunities and you kind of spread that out to do your best to compensate for that production loss.”

Dolphins left tackle Terron Armstead also left Friday’s game with a quad injury; McDaniel called the Pro Bowler “game-to-game, week-to-week.”

Phillips is the latest in a long list of players to suffer an injury on the turf field at MetLife Stadium, including Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who tore an Achilles just four plays into the season.

Dolphins safety Jevon Holland called the field “trash,” while running back Raheem Mostert, who has long been an outspoken opponent of turf playing surfaces, insisted that something needs to be done about the field at MetLife.

McDaniel said he heard Rodgers was trying to contact Phillips and said it was “important to talk to the guys that have been through similar situations,” although he did not know whether anything tangible had developed between Phillips and Rodgers.

The four-time MVP has said he plans to return to practice in early December — well ahead of the normal recovery time for a torn Achilles.

“Yeah, hopefully they’re on ‘The [Pat] McAfee Show’ this week talking Achilles,” McDaniel said. “I do know there was some information distributed in the periphery, because there was a lot of stuff going on. I don’t know him personally but I’ve heard great things about Aaron Rodgers and the type of human being he is.

“I think he was working some channels to get in touch with Jaelan as of last night through a couple of people that have some relationships with him. He’s a smart guy that is not afraid to chase the most exotic science.”

Phillips has played in just eight of the Dolphins’ 11 games this season but was tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks.