MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins pass rusher Bradley Chubb has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
Chubb suffered the injury in the final minutes of a Sunday’s 56-19 loss at Baltimore. He went down after trying to make a tackle and grabbed at his right knee. He was carted off the field.
McDaniel expressed regret afterward when asked why Chubb and other Dolphins starters were in the game at that point, when the deficit was 30 points with 3:05 remaining.
“In hindsight, I would absolutely not have one of them out there if I had known that he was going to get hurt, for sure,” the second-year coach said Sunday. “That’s a known part of the job that I understand fully. It doesn’t look smart at all.”
Added McDaniel on Monday: “It was a tough moment that I wish wouldn’t have happened. Hindsight is 20/20. Every decision I make, I understand how important it is to everyone that I’m doing the right thing for the team and the organization. When things like that happen, yeah, the burden is great. I always learn from things, and you can be rest assured that the proper intent will be applied to every decision I make because I don’t take the weight of that lightly at all.”
Chubb, acquired in a trade with Denver last November, leads the Dolphins with 11 sacks and a league-high six forced fumbles. He has 74 tackles.
The Dolphins will now be without their two star linebackers entering Sunday’s game against Buffalo, which will decide the AFC East. Jaelan Phillips suffered a torn Achilles tendon against the Jets in Week 12.
This is the third ACL tear for Chubb and the first in his right knee. Chubb, the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft, suffered a torn left ACL with the Broncos in 2019. He ruptured the same ACL in high school.
NOTES: McDaniel said veteran cornerback Xavien Howard’s foot injury doesn’t appear likely to require surgery, but he doesn’t expect Howard to be able to play Sunday. Howard was carted off in the first quarter against Baltimore. … Linebacker Jerome Baker could practice this week, which would open his 21-day window to return from injured reserve. He has missed the past four games because of a knee injury. … McDaniel said he is not worried about the health of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who left late Sunday with a shoulder issue. Tagovailoa said afterward that his shoulder was sore, but fine.
