Before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, the world-champion Philadelphia Eagles were busy.
On Monday, the Eagles acquired OLB Jaelan Phillips from the Dolphins in exchange for a 2026 3rd-round pick.
This season, in nine games, the 26-year-old Phillips, who the current Eagles DC, Vic Fangio, coached in Miami, has three sacks.
On Tuesday, Eagles Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman discussed the acquisition of Phillips.
“With all these guys, the process starts with college, and we spent a lot of time with him coming out of college knowing the person,” Roseman said. “It’s really easy to scout the player. He’s got freak ability, he can rush, he can set the edge, he can play in space. He’s got a nonstop motor. I think one of the most fun things to do is put on his tape and watch his effort. When you have the athleticism and the physical ability he has with the effort he has, and then just going and seeing that he was Walter Payton Man of the Year in Miami, and the things that he does in the community. He comes from an unbelievable family, and then Vic was with him.
“A lot of times, when you’re talking to your coaches and you have a vision of how the player is going to fit, you have to have those discussions. But that discussion was really easy with Coach Fangio. [Jokingly.] I think I just said that discussion was really easy with Coach Fangio. Wow. Just for us, where we are as a team, what we believe is important to winning a world championship and to being a great team, it really wasn’t a hard trade to make.”
The five-year veteran’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and Roseman says the Eagles will assess Phillips’ future with the team at that time.
“First of all, I never really get into contract discussions with any players, but we have a lot of good players who are free agents after this year,” he said. “I think when you start picking favorites when you’re trying to compete for championships, there are other issues that come along with that. I think there’s going to be plenty of time to handle our business, however long this season lasts. Hopefully, it’s a very long time, and we’ll deal with all that when the time comes.”
Last week, Philadelphia acquired CB Jaire Alexander and a 2027 seventh-round pick from the Ravens in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick. The eight-year veteran, who signed with the Ravens in the offseason, has played in two games and was healthy for Baltimore’s other six games.
According to Roseman, the 28-year-old Alexander, a two-time Pro Bowler, is worth the risk.
“With [CB Jaire Alexander] Ja, I remember when he signed in June with Baltimore, thinking what a great signing by them,” Roseman said. “It didn’t work out the way that he wanted or that they wanted, or he wouldn’t have been available to us. But the relationship we have with Baltimore, being able to have honest conversations and understanding what he went through a little bit in training camp and getting back to health, [he] obviously missed a lot of time last year. Then just really doing a deep dive on him and how successful he’s been, what we thought of him last year when we were in Brazil playing them, and then for the first part of the year. Then, having [Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach Christian Parker] CP who’s with him and getting to know the mindset of the player. Sometimes in this league, you acquire information, you watch everything, and you feel like, ‘Hey, the risk is worth the reward here.’ I think when you talk about [him] still [being] a young guy, knowing where his health is at now, feeling healthy, feeling good, we felt like the risk was worth the reward with him.”
Phillips is an upgrade for the Eagles, and he should help the pass rush. Regarding Alexander, we’ll see how much he has left. Overall, these moves show that the Eagles are willing to do whatever they have to do to get back to the Super Bowl. We’ll see if it happens.
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