If the Philadelphia Eagles buck the odds and find a way to repeat as Super Bowl champions this season, there’s one trade we can probably point to as a turning point.
When the Eagles made a move to trade for 6-foot-5, 265-pound Miami Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips at the NFL trade deadline, it served to address a void created after Super Bowl hero Josh Sweat left for a 4-year, $76.4 million free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals.
Phillips has taken on a starring role down the stretch for the Eagles — enough so the franchise might not want to let another high profile edge rusher walk out the door.
Eagles Could Make Big Move for Phillips
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks the Eagles will make a big move and award Phillips a 3-year, $80 million contract this offseason if things continue down their current path.
“The 26-year-old has logged two sacks, four tackles for loss, and 17 quarterback pressures in eight games with the Eagles this season,” Knox wrote. “His combination of age, production, and draft pedigree — he was the 18th overall pick in 2021 — could make him more attractive to certain teams than bigger names like Khalil Mack and Trey Hendrickson. With $22.2 million in projected cap space, the Eagles may not seriously consider using the franchise tag on Phillips — the 2025 tag value for linebackers was $25.5 million. However, Philly should make an aggressive push to re-sign (Phillips) on a multi-year deal before or during free agency.”
Major Red Flag for Phillips Moving Forward
There is only one reason the Eagles might want to think twice about delivering that kind of payday to Phillips — a troubling injury history dating back to his college days.
Phillips only played in 11 games over his first 2 college seasons at UCLA due to injuries and medically retired from football in December 2018 after a moped accident.
He wouldn’t return to the field for 2 years, eventually playing a dominant final season for the University of Miami in 2020 where he earned All-American and All-ACC honors with 45 tackles, 8.0 sacks, 16 TFL, 3 pass deflections and one interception in 10 games.
Through his first 2 NFL seasons, Phillips was one of the NFL’s dominant young pass rushers, playing in all 34 regular season games with 103 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 17 TFL, 3 fumble recoveries and an incredible 41 QB hits.
Phillips looked like he was on the verge of becoming to one of the NFL’s elite pass rushers in 2023 with 6.5 sacks through the first 8 games before he tore his Achilles tendon. He returned in Week 4 of the 2024 season against the Tennessee Titans but tore his ACL in his first game back.
Along with most of the Eagles starters, Phillips likely won’t play in the Week 18 regular season finale against the Washington Commanders.
“Eagles EDGE Jaelan Phillips played just 12 total games in 2023 and 2024 combined,” The Philly Special’s Antony DiBona wrote on X on Friday, January 2. “Yet Phillips has a chance to become the third player in NFL history to play 18 regular season games in a single season. While Phillips will likely sit out this week, it’s still a cool opportunity.”
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