Dolphins reveal significant update on Jaelan Phillips' return to the football field

The Miami Dolphins are one step closer to having Jaelan Phillips back on their defense.

Head coach Mike McDaniel announced on Monday during his press conference that Phillips has been activated off of the Physically Unable to Perform list and will begin practicing with the team.

"Jaelan Phillips will be off PUP today," McDaniel said. "What does that mean? I don't know, Barry.  It means that he's going to be practicing with his guys.  Really excited for him because, if you haven't noticed, he's one of the most involved players through the offseason program, and he hasn't taken a snap yet.  So, excited for him."

Phillips' removal from the PUP list was one of a handful of moves the team announced on Monday morning.  The Dolphins signed linebackers David Anenih and Wyatt Ray while also placing linebackers Grayson Murphy and Cam Brown on the reserve/injured list.

Phillips' elevation doesn't necessarily mean one way or the other that he's ready to go for Week One, which McDaniel appeared to imply by stating that it simply means he'll start practicing.  At this point, that's all that can be taken from it.

Phillips return from his gruesome Achilles tear vs. the New York Jets back on November 24 has been a long road of recovery .  However, he's shown recently that he's kept in excellent physical shape and appears to be moving very well, both as far as footwork/quickness and with straight line speed.

It's certainly a great sign that Phillips is on the practice field again regardless of whether or not he's ready to go on September 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  We'll see soon enough how careful and slow the Dolphins will be with letting their star young edge rusher progress from the practice field to live game action.

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