Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that there is reason to have hope after talking to football players (not doctors). He thinks Bradley Chubb and Jalean Phillips could be healthy enough to start week 1 of the Dolphins’ NFL season.
It had been widely accepted because both had serious injuries, Phillips with an Achilles and Chubb with an ACL, late in the season post-Thanksgiving; they each would miss the beginning of the 2024 season. After talking to former players, Perkins is giving hope to Dolphins fans that may not be the case.
Perkins spoke with two new Miami Dolphins, Jordyn Brooks, and Jody Fortson, who each had injuries similar to those of Chubb and Phillips.
Returning from an Achilles injury takes between 6 to 9 months on average. Fortson returned from that injury when he was with Kansas City in 6 months. Phillips was injured on Friday, November 24, 2023. Surgery was within a few days of that injury, putting the six-month mark roughly at May 24th of this year. Putting the nine-month mark on August 24th of this year.
Of course, everyone rehabs differently, and their bodies respond differently to surgeries, treatments, and rehab, but that is a rough time frame for a normal recovery.
Regarding Bradley Chubb and his torn ACL, per the Perkins article, recovery is, on average, between 9 and 12 months. Jordyn Brooks recovered from his in only eight months when he was with Seattle.
Chubb injured his ACL on December 31, 2023. The eight-month mark for him is August 31st, 2024. The nine-month mark is September 30, 2024, and the twelve-month mark is December 31, 2024.
Again, as I stated, every player is different, but there is a reason for hope here. Obviously, I think the odds of Phillips being on the field sooner are much higher than with Chubb. But even if Phillips is ready to go by Week 1, that would be a big boost for the Dolphins and their pass rush.
One item from the Sun Sentinel article that is alarming regarding the ACL injury Chubb sustained is this, “A study published a year ago in Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine regarding NFL players who sustained ACL injuries between 2013 and 2018 found that “NFL players are severely affected by ACL injury, with only 28.5% still active in the league 3 years after the injury. Running backs, defensive linemen, and linebackers performed the worst after injury.” Will Chubb and Phillips be the same post-injury as they were pre-injury?”
So, while Chubb may make a return to the field sooner rather than later, he may never be the same player again with this injury, and their life-span in the NFL post this injury is short.