According to Mike McDaniel, Jaelan Phillips’ return to the Miami Dolphins will come with a snap count as they slowly bring him back to full work. It’s probably a smart call for Miami early on in the campaign with the star pass-rusher.

On Black Friday, 2023, Phillips was having an incredible game against the New York Jets. In fact, his entire season was trending upward. Then, as so many players often do when they are on the MetLife carpet, Phillips pushed off to rush, fell to the ground, and tore his Achilles. The whole thing played out on In Season: Hard Knocks with the Miami Dolphins.

The fact that Phillips returned to practice toward the end of training camp was a miracle, but he is out there, practicing every day, testing his lower leg and trying to get back to what he was doing best, rushing the passer. Against Jacksonville, Phillips will take the field for the first time since suffering the injury, but fans wanting to see him on the field the whole game will be disappointed.

Mike McDaniel spoke with the media and was asked about his star edge-rusher. He said that Phillips will play, but he will be on a snap count. McDaniel and Co. are clearly keeping in mind that this is Phillips’ first game back and also that the Dolphins are playing Thursday Night Football in Week 2 as well.

Dolphins pass-rusher Jaelan Phillips is going to be on a snap count vs. the Jaguars

If the game is out of hand, the Dolphins will probably sit him down. If he has any tenderness or the slightest of ache, not that he would reveal it, the Dolphins will sit him down. The best-case scenario would be that he feels great and the Dolphins still limit how much he plays.

The real test may not come during the game, but in the two days after when the Dolphins and Phillips have a better idea of how he fared in the season-opener. It’s going to be great seeing him on the field, but fans should realize that come Week 1, Chop Robinson and Emmanuel Ogbah are the two players most likely to get the most work.