Dolphins to exercise OLB Jaelan Phillips’ fifth-year option

While Jaylen Waddle is on Miami’s extension radar, the team is making the clear-cut decision to push his rookie contract through 2025 via the fifth-year option. The other Dolphins 2021 first-round pick will also see his deal extended by a year.

Despite going down with an Achilles tear on Black Friday, Jaelan Phillips will secure some additional guarantees soon. The Dolphins are planning to exercise the edge rusher’s fifth-year option by the May 2 deadline, GM Chris Grier said Tuesday, via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. The option is fully guaranteed.

Because Phillips’ injury trouble limited him to eight games last season, his option number is set to come in at $13.3M. That doubles as the lowest tier for linebackers on this year’s option structure. Phillips needed to play at least 50% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps in each of his three seasons or cross the 75% snap barrier in two of the three. The ex-Miami Hurricanes cog would have been on track to cross the first of those thresholds had he not suffered the Achilles tear. Doing so would have made the option number $14.5M.

Phillips, 24, flashed as a rookie by recording 8.5 sacks under Brian Flores in 2021. In 2022, the 6-foot-5 edge defender posted a career-high 25 QB hits. Phillips appeared well on his way to his first double-digit sack season last year, tallying 6.5 in eight games. Had Phillips not missed three games early last season, he would have been eligible for Tier 3 of this year’s option structure. As a result, the Dolphins will receive a slight discount as they continue to evaluate the player.

The Dolphins committed big dollars to Bradley Chubb‘s extension just after acquiring him at the 2022 deadline, but their edge-rushing situation changed dramatically after the injuries to both starters. Chubb is rehabbing the ACL tear he sustained in Week 17. By the wild-card round, Miami needed to plug in a few emergency free agents — from Melvin Ingram to Justin Houston to Bruce Irvin. The Dolphins now have Shaq Barrett in the fold, and the veteran may well be needed to start if one of the rehabbing edges is not ready to go in Week 1.

Re-emerging by Week 1 will be the goal for Phillips, who seems likely to begin training camp on the active/PUP list. A transfer to the reserve/PUP list would mean four missed games. Phillips has a big opportunity ahead, with a return to his pre-injury form setting up either a pricey extension or a contract with another team.

The Dolphins have identified some players they want to extend — from Waddle to Jevon Holland to Tua Tagovailoa. With Chubb and Tyreek Hill tied to lucrative deals, other corners could need to be cut. But a Phillips extension profiles as a back-burner issue. The Dolphins’ payroll could look quite different by the time a second Phillips contract goes on the books.