Chubb Reflects on Trade Anniversary

There perhaps was some nice symmetry to Bradley Chubb being back in Europe on the one-year anniversary of the trade that brought him to the Miami Dolphins.

It was on that continent that Chubb played his final game with the Denver Broncos before the Dolphins acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline for a package that included a first-round pick and running back Chase Edmonds on Nov. 1.

With Chubb in the midst of a solid first full season with the Dolphins, the team would have reason to be happy with how the trade is working out.

And Chubb himself most definitely sounds happy, and he made sure to mark the anniversary of his trade when he spoke to reporters in Germany on Thursday.

“Before the first question, today marks a year, my first time back with the Miami Dolphins team," Chubb said in an opening statement. "This time last year, I had a lot of emotions going, a lot of everything going, and I just want to, right now, I just once again, thank Mr. (Steve) Ross and his family, Mr. (Tom) Garfinkel and his family, Mr. (Chris) Grier, Coach Mike (McDaniel). Changed my life, man, and I’m glad to be here. I’m glad to be here with this team, and I’m thankful to be here in Germany with you guys.

"Wouldn’t have got this opportunity if this time last year wasn’t around. Still a little emotional part of my journey, but at the end of the day, man, I’m right where I need to be. God has a plan for me and my family, and it’s right here in Germany right now. I’m taking the fullest advantage of it, and I appreciate y’all out here."

CHUBB ON PACE FOR DOUBLE DIGITS

Heading into the Week 9 showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, Chubb leads the Dolphins in sacks with five, exactly twice as many as he recorded in his eight games with Miami last season following the trade.

He's on pace to finish in double digits, something no Dolphins defensive player has done since 2017 when Cameron Wake had 10 sacks.

Chubb says being healthy has made a big difference.

“Any time you step foot on that field healthy, it’s a blessing," he said. "It’s been a blessing, and it’s been one of those things, man, I just try to be the best me each and every week. I feel like in the start of the season, I was kind of not really living in the moment, trying to do this and that and be the superhero because I’m the guy they paid or whatever it may be. Over these past couple of weeks, I’ve just been locking in on my teammates and on what I’ve got to do personally to be the best me, because at the end of day I’m just a small piece in this big puzzle.

"Each day I approach, I’m going to make sure I do my job the best, make sure I do this the best, make sure I bring guys along with me with energy, with anything it may be. It’s been working out the past couple of weeks. Being able to go against some of the top, like you said, (running) backs and quarterbacks in the league, it’s been a fun experience, especially when you see yourself starting to have success, because it just lets you know you’re here for a reason. We’ve been playing, like you said, a lot of great quarterbacks, and we’ve got a great quarterback and a great offense coming up this week as well. So just trying to continue the process of it, continue the mind-set and all that and just try not to think of it as, ‘Oh, we’re playing these guys,’ you know what I mean? Just taking it week by week, day by day and letting the play do its talking.”

The quarterback the Dolphins are facing this week of course is Patrick Mahomes, someone with whom Chubb has a lot of familiarity from his years with Denver.

Chubb faced the Chiefs six times during his days with the Broncos and had 1.5 sacks against Mahomes, though he never got to experience a victory against K.C.

“The challenge, especially up front, is you always want to win on your first move," Chubb said. "Like, ‘Ooh, I beat that dude clean. I got a sack.’ You always want that to happen, but the challenge is not getting frustrated in not winning in your first move. Yeah, your first move might come clean, but he’s going to step up and boom, the tackle is going to be right there. You’ve got to work it again to get past him that time and Mahomes might be right there, the quarterback might be on the other side, you never know. So that’s the challenge of just not knowing exactly where he’s going to be, but like I said, we’ve got guys that play hard that get after not only the quarterback, but the running backs, the receivers. If we play that team defense like I know we can and I know we will, it’s going to be good for us.”

When he played in Europe last season, Chubb returned to the United States with a 21-17 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Now he's part of a Dolphins team that will play in the first-ever regular season game in Germany.

“Being a part of history – like I said, I wouldn’t be in this position now if it wasn’t for this time last year," Chubb said. "So when you look at the grand scheme of things, it’s just God putting me in this position, God putting me in the right position, the one he wants me to be in. If that entails making history, then that’s what it is. I’m not thinking, ‘Oh, this is history.’ I’ll just go out there and do my thing and look back on it like, ‘Man, we really did something special.’

"So that’s the goal and going to keep fighting each and every day this week to make sure that we’re on the right side of history. But, yeah, like I said, it’s a blessing to be here.”