The Philadelphia Eagles took a big swing at the NFL trade deadline and landed a difference-maker, in Jaelan Phillips, who has the potential to dramatically improve the pass rush.
“Jaelan’s a big pass rusher,” a rival NFC scout tells Between The Hashmarks. “Who is young, physical, and can play the run on the way to the pass.”
As the scout suggests, Phillips could become the difference-maker that the Eagles’ front-seven has lacked, after Philadelphia played through the first half of the season managing only 16 sacks, seventh-fewest in the league.
Ever-aggressive Eagles general manager Howie Roseman emerged from the deadline leveraging some of Philadelphia’s abundant draft capital for a player who could put this defense over the top, in exchange for a third-round pick in next spring’s 2026 NFL Draft sent to the Miami Dolphins.
This was a prototypical Roseman trade deadline coup, where the Dolphins absorbed a significant portion of Phillips’ remaining $4.46 cap hit this season, the final year of his contract, in order to make the deal possible.
Roseman, and the Eagles now have the second half of the season to evaluate whether Phillips is worthy of a long-term contract extension as a 26-year-old building block of Philadelphia’s defense.
The former No. 18 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Phillips has explosive traits, and when healthy can be a force multiplier along the front seven.
Through his first 55 career games, Phillips has produced 26 sacks with 17 tackles for loss, and 177 total tackles, thanks to his high motor and strong nose for the football that has helped him develop a reputation as one of the rising pass rushers across the sport.
In Phillips’ lone season playing under Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the posted 6.5 sacks in eight games, perhaps foreshadowing his impact that Philadelphia is banking on.
The Eagles’ playoff run to a Super Bowl appearance in 2022 was paved by Haason Reddick’s dominance lifting Philadelphia’s defense, and as the scout describes, Phillips’ skill set is the caliber that can change outcomes in games in January and be a big piece towards delivering a second consecutive Lombardi Trophy in South Philly.
If Phillips hits his ceiling, the rest of the NFC might have a big problem on its hands.
Howie Roseman Explains Why Eagles Didn’t Trade A.J. Brown
GettyThe Eagles did not trade A.J. Brown ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline.
Perhaps the biggest Eagles trade deadline development was the move that Philadelphia didn’t make, and were unlikely to, all along.
When the 4 p.m. trade deadline passed, playmaking wide receiver A.J. Brown was still an Eagle, despite rampant media speculation that he might be moved.
“I think that when you’re trying to be a great team, it’s hard to trade great players, and A.J. Brown’s a great player,” Roseman told reporters shortly after the deadline. “He wears the ‘C’ [on his jersey] for a reason. He’s an important part of this team, of this organization. He cares about winning, he cares about his teammates, and I think that when you’re a team like ours that is looking forward to an opportunity to compete for a championship, you just don’t get rid of guys like that.”
Brown remains one of the most vital players to the Eagles’ success, and despite some off the field drama over the course of the first half of the season, a trade was always unlikely both because of his value to Philadelphia’s offense and how cumbersome it would have been to trade the 28-year-old playmaker.
Had the Eagles traded Brown, it would have triggered a $43 million dead-money charge, which made a trade prohibitive despite the rumors that were swirling for weeks.
Through the first eight games of the season, Brown has caught 29 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns, while surpassing 100 receiving yards only once so far in the 2025 campaign.
“We feel very lucky to have him on our team and excited about the second half of the season with him,” Roseman said, of Brown.
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