Eagles OLB Jaelan Phillips has been through a lot to get where he is today, on the verge of a well-deserved payday. Phillips had to medically retire for UCLA with a range of injuries from concussions to being hit by a moped, but later transferred to Miami and made a comeback to the field. 

It’s a process he’s had to repeat time and time again. He had 15.5 sacks in his first two seasons and was on his way to a breakout year with double digits when he tore his Achilles eight games into the 2023 season. He returned the next year, only to tear an ACL after four games. 

Phillips rehabbed once again and was starting for the Dolphins in 2025 when Miami decided to trade him for a third-round pick to the Eagles at the deadline. He had just two sacks for the Eagles, five on the year, but he was much more disruptive than those numbers show. Phillips ranked ninth among all edge rushers last year with 76 total pressures, per PFF. 

That’s a great indicator that even if the sacks weren’t there in 2025, they will be in the future. Phillips is going to get paid handsomely as a result even though he’s never cracked double-digit sacks and has just 28 in five seasons. He’s in a pretty clear tier of his own near the top of the rankings, as while he doesn’t have the production of Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson, he’s a lot younger. 

The Eagles are going to try their hardest to keep him in the fold, as he was a terrific fit. They’ll have steep competition, though. 

Phillips, 26, was a one-year starter at Miami and was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2020. The Dolphins drafted Phillips with pick No. 18 overall in the 2021 draft.

He was entering the fourth year of his four-year, $14,018,203 contract with the Dolphins that included a $7,555,057 signing bonus when the team exercised his fifth-year option worth $13.251 million fully guaranteed for the 2025 season.

Miami then traded him before the midseason deadline to the Eagles for a third-round pick. 

In 2025, Phillips appeared in nine games for the Dolphins and eight games for the Eagles. He recorded 53 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, five sacks, one forced fumble, two recoveries and four pass deflections. 

We have him included in our Top 100 2026 NFL Free Agents list. 

Las Vegas Raiders

Now that the Raiders have traded DE Maxx Crosby, they’ll need to start the process of rebuilding their defensive line. They’ve got plenty of money to make moves with over $70 million in cap space right now and the Crosby trade has freed up another $30 million. That gives them plenty of room to go fishing in the deep end of the free agent pool. 

Phillips makes more sense than the other options because he’s still young enough to be a long-term contributor for the Raiders. Current Raiders coaches like DC Rob Leonard and Tyrone McKenzie overlapped with Phillips during his rookie year and Miami, so that familiarity would help Las Vegas feel comfortable with a major investment. 

Los Angeles Chargers

Another team with a ton of available cap space, the Chargers have two notable pending free agents on the edge in Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh. The word is they’d like to bring both back. However, if they think Phillips is an upgrade, or if another team poaches either player, Los Angeles could use that wealth of cap space to chase a player like Phillips. 

Chargers GM Joe Hortiz is naturally more disciplined when it comes to spending big in free agency, but the Chargers are in a position where they have a lot of money available. Going after a pass rusher would be a good use of that flexibility. As for Phillips, he’s from California and started his career at UCLA, so he might welcome the chance to go back west. 

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers’ defense took big strides last year but the pass rush was still a major weakness. Carolina was one of the worst teams in the league at getting pressure and sacks, and has identified fixing that as the top priority. Signing Phillips would give the Panthers a potential heavy hitter, albeit at a heavy cost. 

While they’d have to find a way to make the numbers work, the Panthers did make a run at signing DT Milton Williams last year, so they are open to making a big splash. Phillips makes sense as a target for a few reasons if they decide they can afford him. He fits the prototype of what DC Ejiro Evero is looking for at edge rusher and has experience in a similar defense under Vic Fangio for a couple of seasons between Miami and Philadelphia. His best football should also be ahead of him, which is the type of player the Panthers want to try to spend on if they do spend big. 

It’s not the most important thing in the world, but the University of Miami connection between Phillips and GM Dan Morgan might also count for something. Morgan likely has a pretty good idea of how Phillips would fit into the picture for the defense he’s trying to rebuild. 

Washington Commanders

Reports have indicated the Commanders are going to be big spenders in free agency, throwing it back to the days of Dan Snyder in some ways. Washington has over $80 million in cap space and a lot of needs, as last year’s setback exposed following the 2024 NFC title run. 

At or near the top of the list is edge rusher. Von Miller had nine sacks but he played only 37 percent of the snaps. He did most of his damage as a situational rusher. Top edge rusher Dorance Armstrong is coming off of a nasty knee injury and the depth chart behind him is in rough shape. The Commanders have the money to go after a player like Phillips as a building block for HC Dan Quinn up front.  

Dallas Cowboys

Phillips’ time with the Eagles impressed everyone in Philadelphia, but it could result in competition from inside the division. New Cowboys DC Christian Parker was an assistant for the Eagles and has been connected to multiple pending free agents that he helped coach as Dallas looks to rebuild its defense. If a Philadelphia to Dallas pipeline develops, Phillips is one to watch. He’s a known quantity in the defense Parker wants to run and fills a big need at a premium position. 

The Cowboys need to rebuild their edge rushing room almost from scratch. They have last year’s second-rounder Donovan Ezeiruaku, but Jadeveon Clowney, Dante Fowler and Sam Williams are all on expiring deals. After striking out on a trade for Crosby, the Cowboys could have more success going after Phillips in free agency. If the Cowboys keep restructuring deals, they will have enough space to fit a big deal for Phillips on their books. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been hinting at making a splash, and this would certainly qualify.