Jaelan Phillips injury: Dolphins LB exits game, ruled out vs. Titans

Miami Dolphins (1-2) linebacker Jaelan Phillips is out for the remainder of Monday’s Week 4 home contest against the Tennessee Titans (0-3) after suffering a right knee injury in the third quarter.

Phillips pulled up after a play in which he was rushing the passer, grabbing his knee and leaving the field in frustration. Phillips avoided putting pressure on his right leg, per Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald.

Phillips, the 2021 first round pick out of Miami, was playing in just his fourth game since tearing his Achilles last November. He entered the night having compiled four tackles (one solo), one sack and two quarterback hits this season.

Phillips tallied two tackles and a pass deflection prior to exiting the game against Tennessee. After knocking down a pass from Mason Rudolph, Phillips broke out the finger wag celebration in honor of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo, who passed away Monday after a battle with brain cancer.

Jaelan Phillips honored the late Dikembe Mutombo with the iconic finger wag celebration 🔥pic.twitter.com/uC1lOti0io

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) October 1, 2024

Jaelan Phillips suffers setback after making return from Achilles injury

Prior to the Achilles tear, Phillips was on the cusp of becoming a household name. He had 6.5 sacks in eight games at the time, well on pace for a Pro Bowl season.

“When it happened, obviously I was just so devastated,” Phillips said last month, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN. “I felt like I was really hitting my stride. … I said I was hooping, I was balling out. [Head coach] Mike [McDaniel] had told me before the game, ‘This is your opportunity to kind of be a household name,’ so I was riding high. Like probably the highest I’ve been in my NFL career, and then to be humbled just like that, it was devastating.

But right when that happened, I remembered going to the shower and I was crying. I just told myself, like ‘This is OK. I’m going to attack this. I’m going to get over this and this is going to make me stronger at the end of the day.’ I really thanked God. I really said thank you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, because I know it’s going to make me a monster.”