With the Miami Dolphins moving on from general manager Chris Grier and retaining coach Mike McDaniel after their embarrassing 28-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, up next on the docket are the roster decisions that loom ahead of the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Dolphins starting edge defenders Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb lead the names that could be on the move as contending teams look to bolster their pass rush. National reports indicate one of the two will likely be dealt before the deadline.
Those decisions will now reside in the hands of interim GM Champ Kelly upon Grier’s departure.
Before the news on Grier came down, McDaniel addressed his approach in his role with the deadline rapidly approaching.
“I think the main thing is that, first and foremost, I’m the coach of the team, so I focus on coaching the players,” McDaniel said Friday morning, “but I know those conversations when your record is as such, this is standard, this is how the business works.”
The coach will generally be present for players inquiring about possibilities they may be forced to move in the coming days.
“Those conversations will be had, they’re very layered but always have the best interest in the organization in mind,” McDaniel continued. “Part of coaching players is having them understand that it’s not personal. This is a big business. A lot of people have questions, a lot of speculation. That’s the nature of the National Football League. There’s a lot of people that are paying attention, and a lot of people invested in it. You just have to explain where it’s coming from and be a human being that I definitely can understand what that’s like.
“A lot of the times people are flying blind. They just hear what they hear, so when that occurs, you just have to be very direct and honest, which we’ll always be.”
In the postgame locker room Thursday night, both Chubb and Phillips understood what was potentially at stake.
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“God has full control. He knows the plans he had for me,” said Chubb, whom Miami acquired from the Denver Broncos at the 2022 trade deadline. “I’m just living each and every day, being where my feet are. … I understand the business of football.”
Chubb is a captain this year with the team. He has 25 tackles, five for loss, four sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery in 2025 after spending the 2024 season rehabbing his knee injury from the end of the 2023 season.
Chubb’s $19.45 million salary next season isn’t guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Phillips, a 2021 first-round pick of the Dolphins, is a pending free agent as he’s playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract this season.
“It’s out of my control. I would love to stay here,” Phillips said, “but if I get traded, I get traded.”
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was asked about any concerns over losing teammates midseason with the team now 2-7.
“I would say that’s above my pay grade,” Tagovailoa said. “I let those guys upstairs worry about that and do what they need to do in terms of how we’re working things with the team.”
The ceiling of what the Dolphins could get in return for either starting pass rusher might be around a fourth-round pick. Beyond Chubb and Phillips, a team could be interested in reserve veteran edge defender Matthew Judon, but his value would be less as the four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher has been held to 12 tackles without a sack in limited snaps off the bench.
Moving either Phillips or Chubb could free up playing time for 2024 first-round pick Chop Robinson, who has been coming off the bench in a rotational role with both starting veterans healthy. When the two were sidelined in 2024, Robinson tallied six sacks as a rookie.
Over recent weeks, there has also been belief that teams could be interested in the likes of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back De’Von Achane.
Miami has not been interested in entertaining offers for either playmaker, but it’s unknown if that will change with Grier gone.
Injury updates
While outside linebacker Chop Robinson is in concussion protocol, Dolphins safety Ifeatu Melifonwu and cornerback Rasul Douglas both suffered injured toes in Thursday’s loss to the Ravens.
McDaniel, on Friday, said Melifonwu will be “week to week.”
“It seems to be an issue for him to be able to move the way he needs to,” McDaniel said, “so it looks like a week-to-week thing there.”
He said he’ll need to gather more information on Douglas’ injury to determine a timeline.
The Dolphins coach expressed confidence that kicker Jason Sanders, right guard James Daniels, right tackle Austin Jackson and reserve offensive lineman Andrew Meyer will all be able to return from injured reserve at some time before season’s end. He did not have the same belief that veteran offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg is on track to come off the physically-unable-to-perform list at some point.
“I’m hopeful, but I would be lying if I would say I would expect Liam,” McDaniel said. “You always have hope, but he’s been going through some trials in the process.”
