EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — If you want any indication of what Jaelan Phillips means to his team, just look at how the entire Miami Dolphins bench vacated the sideline to check on him on the field before he was carted away in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win over the New York Jets.
The Dolphins left MetLife Stadium concerned for their beloved teammate and valued edge defender, feeling they probably knew his Achilles injury was a serious one that will cost him the season but awaiting official word from doctors.
Upon its return to South Florida, the team got that expected update: Phillips’ Achilles was indeed torn, coach Mike McDaniel confirmed in a Saturday web conference with reporters.
“The long road to recovery starts for Jaelan now,” said McDaniel, with Phillips’ season indubitably over. “He’s fully capable. I know his mindset will be, as weird as it sounds now, you got to find a way that it can be the best thing to ever happen to you.”
Phillips, no more than an hour or so after the lasting, gloomy image of his face in a towel as the cart took him into the tunnel, was modestly upbeat, considering the circumstances, in the visitors’ locker room on two crutches and with a boot on his right foot. He interacted with teammates, explaining to some what he felt as he stumbled on the turf on the pass-rush takeoff.
He posted on X (formally known as Twitter) shortly after the game: “Absolutely devastated, but I feel strength in knowing that this is all a part of God’s plan, and that I have an incredible team and support system around me. I’ll be back stronger than ever.”
The Dolphins, as Phillips rehabs toward a return next season, will look to replace Phillips’ production in the immediate future.
“You don’t necessarily replace Jaelan Phillips,” McDaniel said, “but you can have guys that are able to step up and get his production out through different ways.”
Without Phillips, it’s likely Andrew Van Ginkel starts in his outside linebacker spot, as he did when Phillips previously missed three games earlier in the season. It also opens an opportunity for more playing time on the edge from defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, there’s going to have to be those two individuals that have to step up,” said McDaniel, also noting David Long Jr. should get more inside linebacker snaps with Van Ginkel’s role on the edge increasing.
The team rallied around Phillips in the moment the injury occurred and in the aftermath of the win over the Jets.
“It was emotional,” McDaniel said after the game Friday in the Meadowlands of the team checking on Phillips as he couldn’t get up off the field on his own. “I think that’s one of the special things about this particular team, is there’s a lot of shared journeys. Everybody sees what he puts in on a daily basis and everybody knows how bad he wants to take steps in his game and be absolutely great in this league, which he has and we’ve been very proud of him the whole season.”
Phillips’ teammates, despite the convincing road win in the division that lifted the Dolphins to 8-3 and No. 1 in the AFC for the moment before the remainder of the NFL’s Week 12 slate, took his injury hard.
“Anytime you see somebody go down, it breaks your heart,” defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said, “especially somebody like that who is my little brother.”
Phillips, who had a sack, three tackles for loss and a pass deflection Friday, had been on a tear. He had 6 1/2 sacks in eight games, after missing time earlier in the season with back and oblique injuries, and was on pace for a career high before Friday’s injury.
Said fellow outside linebacker Bradley Chubb: “We’ll be right there to support him the whole way. I told him whatever it is, I’m going to be there in the rehab room to make sure you do everything in order to be the best you.”
Cornerback Nik Needham can help him in that regard as he went through a season-ending Achilles tear last season and returned during this regular season.
“If it did happen,” Needham said right after the game. “I’ve been there and know what it takes to get through there so if he has any questions, talk to me.”
Some teammates were critical of the MetLife Stadium turf, which has a bad reputation around the league for causing injuries.
“Since being in the league, I’ve heard that field is trash,” safety Jevon Holland said. “I don’t know the statistics or anything like that, but I do know turf increases the chance of getting hurt.”
It’s the same field, which is also home to the New York Giants, that had the Jets lose quarterback Aaron Rodgers to an Achilles tear in their season opener on Monday night Week 1.
“No player wants to go down with a significant injury. You saw what happened to Rodgers, very first game within the first series. It just sucks,” running back Raheem Mostert said. “We got to do something about this turf and this playing surface because, obviously, it’s still a major problem. It just has to change.”
Mostert said players are largely against turf because there’s no give on the surface the way grass provides. He said the surface makes your foot feel like it gets stuck if it’s in a bad position.
“I would encourage them to follow all the science, whatever that is,” said McDaniel on Saturday, qualifying that he doesn’t fully know the right answer.
“I think everyone’s incentivized for the safest situation possible. For me, if I did know with factual evidence through study that any sort of injury was avoidable on a different playing surface, that would make me lose my mind, I would flip over tables. I don’t have that, but if that’s there, it’s super important.”
McDaniel also said he has heard Rodgers has made attempts to reach out to Phillips, who traveled with the team back to South Florida.
