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Dolphins place Phillips, Chubb and two others on PUP list. What it means

Dolphins starting outside linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, both coming off major late-season injuries, will begin training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list.

The team made that official on Thursday, and also placed guard Isaiah Wynn and outside linebacker Cameron Goode on that same active/PUP list, as they continue their comebacks from major injuries.

Meanwhile, running back Salvon Ahmed will begin camp on the active/non-football injury list because of a minor medical issue that is unrelated to the foot injury that ended his season last November.

The decision to place Phillips and Chubb on PUP wasn’t surprising. Phillips is coming off a torn right Achilles’ tendon, an injury sustained in the Nov. 24 game at the Jets. Chubb is working his way back from a torn right ACL (knee) injury sustained Dec. 31 in Baltimore.

Video of Phillips moving deftly and fluidly, while doing ladder drills, was shared on social media this week, suggesting the possibility of a return at some point during training camp or early in the season.

Phillips told ESPN in April that he will be ready for the season but didn’t specifically say that he would be available for the Sept. 8 opener against visiting Jacksonville. He did not have a limp during the team’s mandatory mini-camp in early June.

Chubb’s timeline could have him returning at some point during the first half of the season, though the team has been reluctant to provide a timeline.

Players typically need at least nine months to return from an ACL injury, but there are exceptions. New Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks tore an ACL on Jan. 1, 2023 and played in Seattle’s regular-season opener the following September.

Wynn, meanwhile, is still working his way back from a season-ending quadriceps injury sustained last October against Philadelphia. When healthy, he’s expected to emerge as the front-runner at left guard.

Goode, who sustained a torn patellar tendon in the Week 17 game against Buffalo, could return at some point this season.

A player who begins training camp on the PUP list isn’t allowed to practice with his team but can train on the side, attend meetings and watch practice and walk-throughs.

A player can only be placed on the active/PUP list before the start of training camp; Dolphins veterans report next Tuesday and have their first practice on Wednesday.

Players on PUP count against the 90-man roster limit and can come off the PUP list at any point during camp and begin practicing immediately.

But players who begin camp on PUP and then come off cannot return to the PUP list if they sustain a setback or different injury during training camp or preseason.

Teams have until rosters are sliced to 53 players, which is Aug. 30 this season, to shift a player to reserve/PUP. A player can receive this designation if he’s still on the active/PUP list by the time training camp rosters are cut to 53.

Players shifted to the reserve/PUP list must sit out at least the first four regular season games. (The Dolphins’ fourth game is Sept. 30 against the Tennessee Titans.)

Once a player leaves the reserve/PUP list, the team has as many as 21 days to move him to the 53-man roster. He can practice with the team until he’s taken off the list.

If the player still isn’t able to play in games after the 21-day period, he will remain on the reserve/PUP list for the duration of the season.