The Philadelphia Eagles have traded a third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for edge defender Jaelan Phillips, per a league source. The Eagles owned two third-round picks — their own, and one from the New York Jets. They traded their own third-round pick, and will retain the more valuable Jets pick.
Phillips was a Dolphins first-round pick (18th overall) in 2021. He played for Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio during Fangio's one-year tenure as Miami's defensive coordinator in 2023. Phillips' career stats:
| Jaelan Phillips | Tackles | Sacks | FF-FR |
| 2021 (17 games) | 42 | 8.5 | 0-1 |
| 2022 (17 games) | 61 | 7 | 1-2 |
| 2023 (8 games) | 43 | 6.5 | 0-0 |
| 2024 (4 games) | 6 | 1 | 0-0 |
| 2025 (9 games) | 25 | 3 | 0-1 |
Phillips was having a breakout season under Fangio in 2023, when he had 6.5 sacks in 8 games, but that season was cut short by a torn Achilles. In 2024, Phillips tore an ACL that ended his season after just four games.
Injuries are not new to Phillips, who was a big-time prospect coming out of high school. He was ranked No. 2 in the nation by 247Sports, No. 3 by ESPN Recruiting, and No. 6 by Rivals. He initially enrolled at UCLA, but suffered multiple injuries, plus a moped accident that severely damaged his wrist. He actually retired at one point while in college. Phillips would eventually transfer to Miami and return to football, missing the 2019 season. He had a good 2020 season, though, and became a first-round pick.
In the short-term, Phillips will add to an Eagles pass rush that has struggled to consistently generate pressure from the edge. In addition to Phillips, the Eagles will soon have a flood of edge defenders joining the rotation, like Nolan Smith, who could be returning from injured reserve soon; and Brandon Graham, who un-retired and rejoined the team a couple weeks ago but has not yet played in a game.
Phillips is playing on his fifth-year option in 2025, at $13,251,000, and he is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason.
The cost of a third-round pick is quite high, at least for a player with a career season high of 8.5 sacks who tore his Achilles and an ACL in consecutive seasons, and who is only under contract for the rest of this season.
If Phillips signs with a new team in free agency next offseason, he will likely count toward the 2027 compensatory pick formula, though the Eagles would only gain a compensatory picks for losing Phillips if (a) they lose more players in free agency than they gain, and (b) he receives a contract lucrative enough to qualify toward the comp pick formula.
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