Jaelan Phillips of the Dolphins will undergo season-ending knee surgery

Jaelan Phillips has another injury problem that will cut his season short. The Dolphins' fourth-year edge rusher announced Wednesday that he will miss the remainder of the season.

Phillips' statement said he suffered a knee injury in Miami's Week 4 loss on Monday night. The disease requires reconstructive surgery and prepares him for another lengthy rehabilitation process. This news means the Dolphins will be without one of their best defenders for the rest of the game as they try to recover from a 1-3 start.

There were medical warning signs when Phillips entered the NFL, but he didn't miss any time in his first two seasons. That situation changed last year when the former first-rounder suffered a torn Achilles tendon on Black Friday. This limited Phillips to eight games and his promising season came to an abrupt end. As expected, he was fully operational again in time for the start of the 2024 season, but had to take a break again after a short time due to a serious injury.

The UCLA and Miami product had an encouraging rookie campaign, recording 8.5 sacks. This was followed by seven a year later and 6.5 last season (before the injury), leading to high expectations for his performance in 2024. The 25-year-old Phillips managed just one sack and two pressures before going down, but his absence will still be keenly felt on a Dolphins team dealing with key injuries at multiple positions.

Of course, Miami's top contingent was missing Bradley Chubb So far this season. The two-time Pro Bowler remains on the PUP list as he rehabs the torn ACL that ended his 2023 season. After the first four weeks of the season are complete, Chubb can return to practice and be activated at any time. However, it remains to be seen when the former Bronco will be healthy enough to compete. Without Chubb (for now) and Phillips for the rest of the season, Miami will rely on players like veterans Emmanuel Ogbah and newbies Hack Robinson And Mohamed Kamara along the edge.

The Dolphins picked up Phillips' fifth-year option in 2025, locking him in at $13.3 million in salary this year. A long-term contract emerged as the logical path for the team given his early performance, but back-to-back injuries leading to extended absences will undoubtedly influence Miami's approach to negotiations on that front. Phillips will turn his attention to rehab ahead of an offseason in which his financial future will be a key issue.