Bradley Chubb – November 3, 2022
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Wednesday, November 3, 2022
LB Bradley Chubb
(How does it feel to be in Miami?) – “It feels great man, to be honest with you. It feels great just to get around the guys and get around Coach (Mike) McDaniel and see the culture that’s already here. There’s a lot of leaders on this team. I’m just glad I could come in and fall to a good position where guys are winning, guys care. And we can get after this playoff run and Super Bowl and accomplish all the goals we go out there and fight for.”
(It seemed like, from our perspective, from our vantage point, it seemed like all this happened in a whirlwind. You’re traded on Tuesday and come Thursday morning you sign a new deal. I mean, were you aware that you might be headed to Miami? I’m sure you’re probably looking for new deal. Can kind of walk us through the past couple of days, weeks, from your perspective?) – “So we get back from London with the Broncos and I kind of see my name on Twitter and stuff and different teams had interest and stuff like that. I didn’t really know what to expect. And then I got a call from our GM and he told me I was being traded to Miami. He told me about the opportunity it was for me, for this organization. As soon as he told me I was being traded in Miami, man, I kind of like zoned out. I’m not going to lie to you. I just started thinking about everything I could do. Getting my stuff down there. Now I’m going to be a Dolphin. So I got to look up the guys, I got to look at the roster, I got to look at the numbers (and see) what numbers are open. So that’s kind of where my head went and then I flew down Tuesday night, woke up Wednesday morning, did the physical and got out onto the practice field, meeting, and just trying to get caught up on everything now. It’s been a whirlwind. There have been a lot of highs and lows in these past couple of days because you never want to get traded from the team that you get drafted by and started your career with. But at the end of the day, God has a bigger plan than I could ever imagine. So I’m glad I’m here now.”
(What did you know about Head Coach Mike McDaniel before you got here?) – “Luckily I had a couple of teammates – DJ (D.J. Jones), and K’Waun (Williams) who told me a lot about him before even all this even happened. Then when I did get traded, they were like ‘man, you’re going to love him. It’s going to be a great opportunity. He’s a little quirky, but he’s going get the job done. He’s going to get everybody bought in.’ So I see what they’re saying now. He is a good dude. I’m just glad to be around him. And hopefully, we can be around each other for a long time.”
(Did you FaceTime Head Coach Mike McDaniel? Like there’s a video of him FaceTiming QB Tua Tagovailoa when he first got the job? Did he FaceTime you?) – “He didn’t FaceTime me, but he called me for sure. Yeah, he called me, low key probably five minutes after I got the notification I was going to be traded. He was quick with it, for sure.”
(How much do you appreciate that this team was not only willing to trade a first-round pick for you, but reached this extension that you just signed?) – “Man, it’s huge. It’s just a testament to what I’ve been doing. I just got to come out here and continue to do it. I can’t take a step back or make excuses for myself that I’m in a different city or whatever. I’ve just got to hit the ground running. I’m looking forward to doing that with the opportunity against Chicago this week. Just learning my teammates, learning about getting their trust, letting them understand the type of player I am, letting them see it, putting it all out there for them. And like I said, we got bigger goals. We got so many things ahead of us. It’s just about how are we going to get there?”
(Is it going to be hard not to press because a new team, a new contract, all that kind of stuff? I mean, is it enough to be yourself? Or do you think you’ll be a little anxious?) – “To be honest with you, I might be a little anxious. Like you said, it’s a whole new situation, a whole new everything. But at the end of the day, where I’m at now is because I’ve been doing the things that got me here. I can’t change just because of the situation. I might be a little nervous for sure, get the jitters out and all that. But at the end of the day, I know I believe in my abilities, I believe in the guys I’m around on that practice field every day, these past couple of days, and I know we’re going to get the job done. So I’m excited about it.”
(You played with a very talented end in Denver with Von Miller, and now you come here. There’s some anticipation about what you and LB Jaelen Phillips can do, not just this year, but in the long term. What do you know about Jaelan’s game? And what do you envision that you and he could do together?) – “So it’s crazy, man. We actually played the Jets kind of like right after the Dolphins did, so I got a chance to see him rush and see this whole defense play out. I always watch the edge guys because I’m going against the tackle. So I’m trying to figure out what they got and stuff like that. But when I watched that whole room man, with ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel), and ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram), and ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips), and all those guys that were rushing the passer, and (Emmanuel) Ogbah man, it’s a beautiful sight to see. I’m glad I could just be a piece of that. I know all the things that Jaelan does well, his length, his size. He’s one of the biggest humans I’ve seen, seeing him face to face. And I get to practice that every day with him. It’s going to be a great opportunity. I know he brings that power. He brings that finesse. He does a great job of bringing both so I know we can match each other with that, so I’m excited about it.”
(People who don’t know your game, can you kind of give us a self-scouting report?) – “Yeah. I’m a relentless guy. I’m going to run to the bal. If there is a ball 30 yards downfield, I’m going to try to do everything I can to get down there and try to get the ball out. When it comes to rushing the quarterback, I like to do a little bit everything. I feel like I got a good combination of size and speed so I can use my power, I can use the finesse, whatever the situation comes to and I’m just like I said, relentless and doing everything I can to help my team win.”
(On that same note, how do you think this multiple defense suits your skillset?) – “It’s pretty much the same thing I’ve been doing for the past couple of years. It’s just the language is a little bit different. And the calls and stuff like that, I’ve just got to study and make sure I’m good on every call like I kind of knew the Denver defense like the back of my hand because I was in it for four years at the time. So it’s just like a refresher on having to be a better pro and studying my playbook every night and getting to it. I’m up for the challenge and I’m excited about it.”
(Anything specific within this defense that you’re excited to maybe do on Sunday and in the future?) – “To be honest, I’m still learning.I’m still learning but I know once I get it like I knew my previous defense, I know there’s going to be opportunities in there for me to take shots, take chances and do what I do. But at the end of the day, I’m just going to try to focus on everything I can and get to be in the best number two I can be.”
(What did you and Jeff Wilson Jr. do on the private plane?) – “Sleep. (laughter) I honestly didn’t even see Jeff come on the plane. I was so knocked out because we had – I didn’t wake me up. We were going from Denver to Dallas and I was knocked out, feet up, had a blanket on me and all I remember was getting to Florida. It was about 2 a.m. when we landed too. We didn’t even barely say anything in the car. But the next morning, we were happy for each other and happy for the opportunity.”
(Did the Dolphins come up in any like film study that you were doing with the Broncos? Like I know these teams haven’t played each other obviously. But what did you know about Miami as a team? I don’t know if they’d come up when you’re doing film study and other opponents.) – “Yeah, to be honest, like throughout the week in Denver, we used to watch like situational football and stuff like that. So I saw like the ending of the Bills game, how Josh Allen tried to throw it to Stefon Diggs and he couldn’t get out of bounds and it ended up being bad for them. The Dolphins won. So when I got traded, I start thinking about all the stuff I saw the Dolphins with. I’m like that’s crazy because it’s been on the back of my mind. Then like I said, we played the Jets after the Dolphins so I kind of got to see those guys rush and get after it. And yeah, those are probably the two games I watched this past season. And the news too. Like I was able to watch the Cincinnati game because it was a Thursday night prime time. I have vivid memories of every time I watch the Dolphins play, which is crazy now.”
(On the outside, some people are talking about what level this team can reach with this move. Some people are talking AFC Championship contention, Super Bowl contention. Where do you see that this team stands?) – “I see the sky’s the limit. Like I said the leadership, that’s what’s going to take it to wherever we need to go. I’m just now getting here and we got player-led meetings on both days and it really means something to guys. You see how we practice in jog-through yesterday running to the ball 30 yards down the field. And, and I’m looking around like, ‘Am I doing this right? Bring me along to.’ I feel like the sky’s the limit because everybody in this organization, in this building cares, and they understand that to play championship football, you got to go the extra mile.”
(At one point, you had made a mention, I think it was this past offseason, about how the Chiefs were getting under your skin. The rivalry between the two teams. Did you and WR Tyreek Hill share a laugh now that you’re on the same side?) – “We didn’t talk about it yet because it’s still a little sensitive subject for me. (laughter) I’m just playing. I used to hate that dude, man. Not going to lie to you. Not because of the person he is. Just because of the team he was on and all the things he did against us and stuff like that. But now I’m happy I’m on the same sideline as him. I’m going to level him up every time he throws out the peace sign and I’m going to do it too. It’s going to be a good time. I’m excited.”
(This contract puts you in a sphere with guys like TJ Watt, Joey Bosa, Myles Garrett, Khalil Mack. Can you talk about where you would like your personal legacy to go from here eventually?) – “I just want to be in that conversation consistently. I feel like I’ve had good seasons. And then I have had bad seasons as well with the injuries and stuff. I just want to be consistent with my play, consistent with my leadership, consistent with everything I do. I feel like if I do that, the sky’s the limit not only for me but this organization because I’m going to be here for a while. So I’m going to do everything I can to be a key piece, a key focal piece, and bring my teammates along. And like I said, the leadership is already here. I’m just an addition to it. So I’m excited to grow as a leader, as a man, as a person, as a football player. And like I said, just continue to be consistent.”
(I have a question out of left field. I believe your rookie year, you guys played San Francisco and Jeff Wilson Jr. Do you remember – can you give us a scouting report on Jeff?) – “We actually played them this past year too. Week 3. So yeah, man he runs hard. He’s one of the hardest running (running) backs in the game. He can catch the ball out the backfield. He can do a lot of great things for this offense. He can do a lot of things to open it up. He’s just one of those guys that when we game-planned against them, we said it’s going to take the whole group, the whole defense to bring 22 down. So he’s what, 23 now? It’s going to take the whole defense to take 23 down. So I’m excited to see what he does.”
(Is there any specific meaning to choosing number two? Or is that just the jersey that was available?) – “At first, it was the coolest looking number available. And then when I started thinking about it, it’s part two of my life. My whole adult life I’ve been in Denver. It’s part two. It’s a new beginning. It’s a new everything. It’s kind of like part two for me, so that’s what I put my focus towards now.”
(I know that you said there’s leaders already on the team, you’re just adding to it. But what kind of things do you need to do, coming into a locker room that you’ve never played with before, and already being one of the highest paid guys on the team?) – “I’ve just got to earn the trust of my teammates and continue to be me. I feel like when I go out there and play, and loving up my teammates after they make a play, and them loving me up after I make a play, it’s going to happen organically. Now it’s just like a little weird because like you said, I haven’t played with these guys. I barely know – I know Teddy. I played with him. So he’s seen me put in the work. He’s seen me do a lot of stuff. I know how weird it is to for somebody to come into a new team and get paid and not put no stain with them. So my main thing is just trying to be the best me I can be, show these guys that I’m a hard worker, I’m going to do everything right or try to do everything right because nobody’s perfect. I’m going to try to do everything right and whatever it takes for this team to win, (No.) 2 is going be there to do it.”
(How much Clemson crap has DT Christian Wilkins already talked to you?) – “We actually had a laugh about the towel stealing a couple years ago. We had a laugh about it. He said ‘do you know where I got the towel stealing from?’ And he pointed at me. (laughter) I’m glad we already played them. It didn’t work out for us. But I’m glad we already played them so we don’t have to have that conversation upcoming. But at the end of the day, man, he knows NC State is probably the better team. But you know what it is. (laughter)”
(Closing Statement) – “I want to thank Mr. (Chris) Grier, Coach (Mike) McDaniel, Mr. (Stephen) Ross for believing in me, trading a lot for me and being able to pay me and do all that. So it’s a blessing. It’s an honor. I’m excited to get this thing going. I just want to thank all the people out in Denver too with George Paton, John Elway, the Bowlen family, the Walton family that just came in, for the opportunity as well. I appreciate you all.”
