The Miami Dolphins will be picking up the fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of former first-round draft picks Jaylen Waddle and Jaelan Phillips, general manager Chris Grier told reporters on Tuesday. The league’s deadline for those fifth-year option decisions on first-rounders from the 2021 class is on May 2 and it appears the Dolphins plan to hold on to both of theirs for at least another season.
Waddle, the 25-year-old, 2021 first-round pick out of Alabama, has one more year left on his rookie contract but the fifth year will take him out until 2025. If the team doesn’t work out a long-term deal before March of 2025, he’ll become a free agent. He recorded his third consecutive 1,000-yard season since entering the league, and he did it in just 14 games.
Through three seasons, Waddle has accumulated 251 catches, 3,385 yards and 18 touchdown receptions. He’s also added five receptions and 75 yards in postseason games.
Jaelan Phillips recovering from Achilles rupture
Jaelan Phillips, selected 12 picks after Waddle in the first round, is coming off of a 43 tackle, 6.5 sack season for the Dolphins. He tore his Achilles eight games into the season and missed the remainder of the team’s games.
The former Hurricanes edge rusher is hoping to make a full recovery by the start of the 2024 season.
“Rehab has been going great,” Phillips told ESPN at the University of Miami spring game Saturday. “I’m just attacking it every day and I’ll definitely be back healthy for the season and — God willing — stay healthy for the season.”
Through his first three years in the NFL, Phillips has 146 tackles, 22 sacks, and 13 tackles for loss. As a rookie, he finished second on the team with a career-high 8.5 sacks.
Despite their impressive production through three seasons, neither Waddle nor Phillips has made a Pro Bowl, which makes their fifth-year option figures slightly less expensive for the Dolphins. For a linebacker, the figure is $14.48 million, and for a wide receiver, it’s $15.59 million.
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