This week, the Miami Dolphins opened the 21-day window for Bradley Chubb to start practicing. The Dolphins then have 3 weeks to decide whether to activate Chubb on the roster or keep him out for the season.
I think the Dolphins should not activate him and should shut him down for the season. I don’t see the upside in the Dolphins activating him and having. The Dolphins are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
Don’t get me started on the playoff standings. I haven’t even looked at any scenarios or standings that could put the Dolphins in the playoffs. It would take a Christmas miracle for the Dolphins to make the playoffs.
I know the Dolphins, for the most part, have an easy schedule. The only team that I feel they won’t beat is the Houston Texans because they are going to Houston, and they have a lot on the line besides a division title. Plus, the Dolphins haven’t beaten anyone that good and haven’t competed against good teams. I would have included the San Franscisco 49ers, but injuries to key players have plagued them, and they haven’t played well this year.
The Dolphins don’t see that they are in denial about everything. Playing Chubb would be a huge risk for him to get reinjured. I know every player has that risk when they play, but he hurt himself playing in garbage time in a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens and shouldn’t have been on the field, frankly. It cost him not only the final regular season and playoff game but also pretty much his 2024 season.
Look, I knew the Dolphins would take a step back this year on defense because they lost players like Christian Wilkins, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Brandon Jones in free agency this year. They also had Chubb and Jaelan Phillips coming off season-ending injuries last year, so their seasons were going to be up in the air if they would be ready. The Dolphins signed many older free agents on one-year contracts and haven’t panned out.
They drafted Chop Robinson with their top pick, and he has a bright future ahead of him, but the reality is that he’s a rookie, and to think he would give you double-digit sacks was unrealistic. Robinson has played well at times, but he hasn’t been a factor at other times, which can happen with rookies. Phillips made a remarkable recovery but unfortunately tore his ACL in the 4th game of the season. The pass rush has been nonexistent this season, and when you don’t have a pass, you open yourselves up to other weaknesses. The secondary has fallen off as well.
The other thing is that it takes a good year to recover from a torn ACL, and Chubb has tore one before in his career. It’s probably best to have him continue to rehab and get ready for next year rather than play him in these meaningless games to end the season.
I think the Dolphins pass rush will be better next year with the trio of Chubb, Phillips, and Robinson, assuming they are healthy and ready to go for the season. However, that’s next and the Dolphins just finish the season out and keep Chubb. I may be the only one who feels that way, but I feel that the risks are greater than the rewards with the way the season has gone.
