As co-chairman of the Dolphins Challenge Cancer, there was no way Jaelan Phillips was going to miss this year's event even if he's on the mend from the Achilles injury that cut short his 2023 season.
Three months after the injury, Phillips clearly wasn't ready to bike 99 miles like he did each of the past two years, but there was a clear sign of progress nonetheless that Phillips made sure to point out when he gathered to talk to a group of Dolphins beat writers.
"Check me out," Phillips said with a proud look, "no boot, no scooter."
PHILLIPS ON NICE TRACK BACK
If you've ever seen Phillips up close, you would know that doing hard work to take care of his body never was going to be an issue in terms of his rehab from the Achilles injury, which took place on Black Friday after he had extended his streak of games with a sack to five in helping the Dolphins defeat the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Phillips said he wasn't aware of where he was in his rehab timetable, but everything has been positive so far.
"All I know is I feel strong," he said. "I feel great, just been tackling rehab. It's been awesome so far.
"It's something that's kind of new to me, because I've never had like a lower-extremity injury like that — long term at least. So it's been cool. It's been a new experience just learning my body and figuring out like what to do, what's best for me. And so it's been great.
"Honestly, I haven't had any bad days throughout this whole process since surgery, been locked in and just motivated to get back to the season."
Stephen Ross Talks at DCC (0:33)
NO FEELING SORRY FOR HIMSELF
Phillips ended his 2023 season with 6.5 sacks in just eight games — he earlier had missed four games with oblique and back issues — and likely would have topped his career high of 8.5 sacks in a season and very well might have reached double digits if not for the injury.
And one obviously can't help but wonder how the Dolphins season might have unfolded had he and fellow outside pass rusher Bradley Chubb not gone down with season-ending injuries.
But Phillips isn't about to feel sorry for himself.
"I guess the biggest thing I've taken out of it was just understanding that God has a bigger plan and that sometimes in life things happen that it's hard to find a reason why," he said. "But the why doesn't really matter, it's how you respond. And so for me, just been able to keep my head up throughout this process and, like I said, find some silver linings and just understand that I can use this time to improve on other aspects of my life."
A DIFFERENT DCC FOR PHILLIPS
Phillips has been involved in the DCC since he joined the Dolphins as a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, but this year was different because he couldn't bike.
What he could do, however, was spend time and meet participants instead of focusing on finishing his long bike ride.
"It's a pretty cool experience, because I get to see more people, interact with more people," he said. "Obviously, I love riding, I love supporting the cause. But it's cool that I have this year to experience it in different way."
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