Eagles acquire pass rusher Jaelan Phillips from Dolphins
Eagles GM Howie Roseman has made three acquisitions in the past week as Tuesday's NFL trade deadline approaches.
Pass-rush help is on its way to the Eagles.
The team acquired Jaelan Phillips on Monday from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick.
The move comes ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline in an attempt to bolster the Eagles’ pass rush. The group has evolved since the start of the season, with Za’Darius Smith retiring, Brandon Graham returning from retirement, and three players — Nolan Smith, Azeez Ojulari, and Ogbo Okoronkwo — going on injured reserve. Nolan Smith is expected to return after the bye week.
The Eagles will look to tap into Phillips’ upside, bringing pass-rush juice to an edge rushers rotation that has combined for just 4½ sacks (including Za’Darius Smith’s 1½) through eight games.
Phillips, 26, arrives in Philadelphia on the final year of his rookie deal after an injury-riddled start to his NFL career with the struggling Dolphins. The No. 18 overall pick in 2021 out of the University of Miami, Phillips had a productive first two seasons in the league, as he posted 15½ total sacks.
» READ MORE: Eagles acquire CB Alexander from Ravens
However, his next two seasons were ended by injuries, including a would-be breakout campaign in 2023 in which he racked up 6½ sacks in eight games. That year, Phillips suffered a torn Achilles tendon. The following season, he suffered a partially torn ACL after just four games.
Phillips has managed to stay healthy this season. He has started in all nine games with the Dolphins and has heated up in recent weeks, collecting three sacks in the last five games.
He notched his most recent sack last week in the Dolphins’ Thursday night loss to the Baltimore Ravens, a performance that prompted the firing of general manager Chris Grier and an anticipated fire sale for 2-7 Miami.
According to Next Gen Stats, Phillips’ 29 pressures this season (tied with Jalyx Hunt, among others) rank 12th among all defensive players in the NFL.
The 6-foot-5, 263-pound edge rusher is set to reunite with Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. He held the same title with the Dolphins in 2023, the year Phillips was on the ascent before his season-ending injury.
The acquisition of Phillips marks Howie Roseman’s third move in the last week ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. The Eagles general manager has added options in the secondary, picking up outside cornerback Jaire Alexander from the Ravens and slot cornerback Michael Carter II from the New York Jets.
Jeffrey Lurie has owned the Philadelphia Eagles, which he purchased in 1994, longer than his son, Julian, has been alive. But in recent years, the younger Lurie, heir to the franchise and now 31, has assumed a more pervasive and influential role in the organization. While the Eagles have made no secret about Julian’s increased involvement with the team, specifics about his role have been scant. In recent months, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane spoke to nearly two dozen sources on and off the record to gain a better understanding of not just who Julian Lurie is and what he does, but - most important of all - whether he’ll be ready to assume the reins as Eagles Chairman and CEO, whenever the time comes. Jeff shares the biggest takeaways from his reporting with Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski in this companion episode to Jeff’s feature article about the Eagles' succession plan. Listen here.
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