Last week, knowing that Jaelan Phillips is going into his final season playing on his option year, I asked the following question:
> _**What would you like to see the**_ [_**Dolphins**_](https://www.thephinsider.com/) _**do with Phillips going forward? Do they extend before or during the season, attempt to trade him if he is healthy mid-season, wait and see how he holds up this season, and then try to re-sign him or tag him, let him walk if he is injured again, or just let him walk no matter how his upcoming season goes?**_
I also posted a poll asking
> _**What would you like to see the Miami Dolphins do with Jaelan Phillips going forward?**_
**The results-**
* 32% or 108 of you said- Wait and see how he starts the season and then try to extend him during the season if he’s healthy and playing well.
* 24% or 89 of you said- Extend him now!
* 24% or 88 of you said- If he stays healthy all season long, attempt to re-sign him after the season or tag him.
* 9% or 32 of you said- If he is injured again, let him walk after the season.
* 6% or 22 of you said- If he’s healthy at the beginning of the season, attempt to trade him before the deadline.
* 6% or 21 of you said- Let him walk after the season and just hope for a decent comp pick in 2027.
Below are some of your answers and thoughts on the question of the day-
It seems **Alley Gator** is ready to let him walk after this season.
> Learn from signing Tua a year too early. Don’t sign known injury problems. It’s been two years since he played a full season and was productive, and that production had a lot to do with Chubb being on the other side. Pass. Depending on compensatory picks, we could bring in a big haul of younger and cheaper players this year.
**Jptapt** says trade or let him walk is the way to go**.**
> I really like him, but business is business. I would try to trade him. If you can’t, let him walk after the season. We are already paying enough for injury risks (Tua).
**sdphinsfan** has a well-thought-out plan, but I warn you, it requires the use of math.
> Always an interesting proposition when you’re considering what to do with talented and productive players who’s only real knock is suffering injuries. Is money part of this game? At every level. Are injuries part of this game? Definitely, and for whatever reason, more so in Miami it seems.
>
> In Phillips case, here’s a player who has shown us everything you hope you see from a 1st round pick. Heart, effort, leadership, and most importantly, productivity. There are a handful of Edge players who affect to a very visible degree how the whole front 7 performs on D. Garrett, Hutchinson, Hendrickson, Crosby, Jones...when those guys are on the field, the entire D performs to another level as opposed to when they aren’t. Phillips has that same effect and it would be more powerful if he could stay on the field.
>
> So based on how he’s played and what he contributes, there is every reason to make every effort to re-sign him. But you can’t ignore the missed snaps due to injury. Grier will wait. He’ll say “play it out and let’s do an extension”. It’s what he does predominantly. When Phillips plays it out and kills it, we’ll hear from Grier that this player has busted his butt and deserves a chance to hit FA. Or, he’ll let Phillips play it out, Phillips will kill it, and then we’ll extend him paying him the highest amount possible, because at that point he’ll have to compete with other clubs for Phillips services. And with the cap going up by roughly 10%, an already expensive position will become more so. Outside of the RB position, it’s more expensive to sign FA’s at any position and the numbers only go up...
>
> Most players going into a second deal are looking intently at the guaranteed money in the offer. Those going into a second deal who’ve had numerous injuries are focused almost solely on guaranteed money. So if I’m Grier, I’m making a solid offer of guaranteed money this offseason. I’d look at what the top 10 Edge guys are making guaranteed, and then I’m looking at the percentage of snaps Phillips has played vs those guys. I apply the percentage of snaps to the average dollar amount and that’s what I guarantee. Its fair for the team, its fair to the player. On top of that, I include incentives for more than average snaps played and for performance metrics. So Phillips has his guaranteed money and if he does more, he gets more. The team gets him at more responsible price, and they get a young player who has everything to gain if he goes out and performs to an even higher level. Unfortunately we don’t operate that way. We’ll let him walk, or pay him the premium a year from now.
**glen55** believes he might be a bit of a bargain if we re-sign him now.
> It’s not that there is no such thing as a player being injury-prone, but it’s not nearly as common as fans seem to think, and the most common explanation for one guy having several injuries is something akin to random number generation.
>
> I’d go for it right now while his price might be down. No guts, no glory.
**Bill Moody** says to re-up him now but is happy it's not on him.
> This is a tough one, but I voted to extend him now. Its a risk due to his injury history, but you’re not gonna get a better price by waiting. The guy clearly has the talent and work ethic, but he’s useless if he’s not on the field. Therefore, I think its best to try and lock him up for 2-4 years before his value jumps, and take the risk that he doesn’t get another major injury. I’m glad I’m not the one to have to make this decision though.
**MIAMI235,** I guess, is saying to let him walk because he will be signed for more than 13 million per, even with his injury history.
> Not willing to keep him at anything close to his current salary, regardless.
**Dolfanjoe** wants the team to let him start the season and see what happens before making any decision.
> Another good player who does give it his all. Injuries are part of the game and at this point no one knows if he will ever be the same ! What’s a GM on the thin red line to do ? Little money for extensions when we need to sign free agents to bolster the team. Very little choice but to let him play and see what he can do in 25. Top 5 at his position will we be able to afford him in 26 ? Trade him at the trade deadline and get great return from a contender, especially if we are not ! If we are not successful in 25 we will be starting over from management on down. And we need not worry about franchise tags and such. Like most of this team now, play it out and see the results.
**Miami7** is biased and says roll the dice now. I agree, and I would like to see them give him a deal that they can dump after 2026 or 2027 if things go south.
> Probably my favorite current Dolphins player, so a bit biased I spose’.
>
> I’d be open on extending him now - while his price is ‘significantly’ lower than it would be if he’d remained healthy AND should be less than if they wait ‘into the season’ to get a deal done (if he’s doin’ his thing & killin’ it) - but they HAVE TO give themselves viable ‘outs’ along the way to protect themselves.
>
> JP is/was on the cusp of ‘greatness’. Understandably, he is a big risk. The Dolphins decision makers of the past 30 years aren’t folks that’d end up in the “Who’s Who” of financial wizardry registrars or certainly NFL proliferation reports. (Financial or talent wise). So, in all likelyhood, whatever they do will be the wrong choice. I just enjoy this kids work ethic & ability/growth (when on the field).
**SlayerNation1** says to wait until the middle of the season or after the season to decide.
> See how it goes with rehab. Use head over heart for once, you can extend during or after the season.Further complicating is the very likely lame duck regime. To attract the best available GM/HC, a team would want the fewest bad contract entanglements.JP is the anti-Jevon Holland. JP would do anything to be on the field making plays. JP goes about His business quietly and is something of an anachronism by today’s standard.
**Thomas23059** believes it's bad luck and not because he's injury-prone. I've thought that all along, so I would re-sign him now for a low cost. Eventually, this team will need guys who are outplaying their contracts if we want to get to where we want to get to.
> The guy is running downfield, trying to make a play, and one of his teammates takes out his knee. That is bad luck, not injury prone. You don’t punish him for that. But you do make sure he is healthy first. Give him something like 2 years, $20 million fully guaranteed, with three void years to spread out the cap hit. If he shows he is back in 2025, you give him a new long term deal with the money you save by releasing Chubb.
Well, that’s our random 10 answers to the Phinsider Question Of The Day. To see the rest of the answers and the discussion, visit the original [**HERE**](https://www.thephinsider.com/2025/3/4/24377742/phinsider-question-of-the-day-jaelan-phillips-edition). As always, with our posts where I ask you to participate, I appreciate everyone who takes the time to answer the question of the day.