Bradley Chubb update puts Dolphins between a rock and a hard place

Chubb suffered a devastating knee injury on Dec. 31, 2023, tearing his ACL, meniscus and patellar tendon. 

The Dolphins (7-8) have fallen short of preseason expectations. With two games remaining, they're three games short of their over-under win total before the season began (10 wins).

Miami must win out and receive help to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season. 

It will be without one of its top 2023 edge-rushers in its last-ditch effort to qualify for the postseason. Last year, Chubb had 11 sacks in 16 games, his most since posting 12 sacks as a rookie in 2018.

The Dolphins acquired Chubb from the Broncos for a 2023 first-round pick — which Denver used in its trade with the Saints for head coach Sean Payton — at the 2022 trade deadline.

Chubb has three years remaining on a five-year, $110M extension he signed with the Dolphins after being traded. His 2025 cap hit is $29.3M, a roughly 85% increase from this season ($15.9M).

With rookie Chop Robinson's emergence, Chubb could be expendable. Robinson has six sacks, all in his last eight games. As ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted, Robinson has produced "quick pressures at the highest rate of any pass rusher in football." 

However, Louis-Jacques reported Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said the decision to shut Chubb down for the season wasn't "based on anyone but Bradley." 

With Miami staring at sizable cap numbers from wide receiver Tyreek Hill ($27.7M) and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ($39.4M), it might be better suited to using the money earmarked for Chubb on bigger needs.

However, Louis-Jacques notes that the Dolphins would only see savings by designating Chubb as a post-June 1 cut. If released before June 1, Miami would save $1.9M while incurring a $27.4M dead cap charge.

If he were a post-June 1 cut, the Dolphins would have $9.1M in dead cap in 2025 and $18.3M in 2026 while saving $20.2M in 2025.

Miami already has $17.1M in 2025 dead money, including $15.7M to former cornerback Xavien Howard. Adding to that total might not make as much sense as getting a production season from Chubb.

As Louis-Jacques also noted, a pass-rushing trio that includes Chubb, Robinson and Jaelan Phillips, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Week 4, the Dolphins could be formidable.

The Dolphins need Chubb to return healthy and produce like he did in 2023. With their salary cap situation, they have no other option.