Making sense of Jaelan Phillips trade, re-signing vs. compensatory pick: Eight Eagles thoughts

So much for a quiet bye week. The Eagles remained the story leading up to the trade deadline by acquiring edge rusher Jaelan Phillips from the Miami Dolphins for a third-round pick. That was the third trade general manager Howie Roseman made in the past week. Three of the NFL’s seven trades during the past week were by the Eagles.

There’s still more time before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline, but with the headlining move behind them, here are eight Eagles thoughts on the Phillips deal and more:

1. On the surface, it’s easy to like this trade. The Eagles needed help at the top of the edge rusher depth chart. They’re fine with rotational players, but they lacked the established No. 1 like Josh Sweat last year. That’s Phillips. There’s a good chance Phillips is the best edge rusher to change teams at the deadline, which is a major statement for the Eagles.

Phillips must stay healthy and consistent in his production. It should be encouraging for Eagles fans that his best stretch of football came in 2023 under Vic Fangio (6.5 sacks in eight games). That shows that he can flourish in the scheme. Fangio spoke glowingly of him that season, too, so there’s clear interest from the defensive coordinator.

“Jaelan is a great player, make no mistake about it,” Fangio said in November 2023 after Phillips’ season-ending injury. “When he missed those games early in the year, it took him a game or two to get back rolling to be his normal self. But this last month or so, he’s been playing great for us. We’re going to miss him. And yeah, he’s a part of us playing the run and obviously playing the pass with him rushing the passer. We’re going to miss him tremendously and yeah, he was a big part of that.”

The talent, athleticism, and size are present for Phillips to be a top-of-the-rotation player. Phillips and Nolan Smith will be the starters. Jalyx Hunt fits well as the No. 3 edge rusher. Josh Uche and Brandon Graham will round out the rotation. The Eagles only had 4.5 sacks from their edge rushers this season (and the most are from Za’Darius Smith, who has since retired), and they’ve lacked the depth to rotate through pass rushers. This puts them in a much better situation. Phillips could suffer another injury — he played 12 combined games in 2023 and 2024 — but that cannot be predicted.

If your basis for evaluating the trade is whether they have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl today than yesterday, the answer is yes.

2. The price has been a topic of debate. The reality is this is the price you’re going to pay for an edge rusher of this caliber. In the trade deadline primer last Friday, I mentioned Chase Young as a comparison. Young was a similarly talented, injury-riddled former first-round pick on an expiring contract. He went for a late third-round pick. Von Miller, who was a better player, went for a second- and third-round pick as a rental. When the Eagles traded for a back-of-career Robert Quinn, it was for a fourth-round pick. I didn’t think they’d be able to land Phillips for a middle of Day 3 pick. Perhaps a fourth-rounder, but considering the Dolphins picking up a chunk of the salary, the price was reasonable. The Eagles didn’t steal Phillips by any stretch. They paid market price.

In any trade, you need to consider why the other team is doing it. In this case, the answer is clear. The Dolphins are a bad team. Phillips is on an expiring contract. They get value for him now with the uncertainty of whether they’d extend him, considering there’s going to be a new general manager in Miami.

3. The Eagles should consider extending Phillips — either now, or after the season (if he stays healthy). Edge rusher is a long-term need for the Eagles, and they don’t have major money tied up in Smith or Hunt. In fact, both are under team control for at least two more years (if the Eagles pick up Smith’s fifth-year option). Phillips, 26, could be part of the team’s defensive core. And the Eagles could pay him before Smith and/or Hunt get new years on their deals. If nothing else, trading for Phillips gives the Eagles a head start and exclusive negotiating rights in February before free agency. Phillips would likely be one of the 10-15 available free agents if he hits the market. Considering the talent, the fit, the position, and the age, it’s something Roseman should explore.

GM Howie Roseman would have exclusive negotiating rights before Jaelan Phillips hits free agency. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)

4. Yes, Phillips would count toward the compensatory pick formula if he were to sign elsewhere. More is being made out of this possibility than is merited. There is too much unknown at this point — what contract Phillips would sign, what contracts the Eagles would give potential free agents — to suggest what the compensatory pick would be. It’s a nice benefit to the deal that they could recoup value in 2027 if Phillips signs elsewhere. But it’s not as if the Eagles can count on getting the pick value back. This trade is about trying to win in 2025. If they could keep him beyond this year, all the better. A potential compensatory pick is nice to consider, but it’s premature to know what they would be.

5. A key part of the deal was that the Eagles traded their original pick and kept the Jets’ third-round pick acquired in the Haason Reddick trade. That could be about a 30-pick difference — and considering these are top 100 picks, that’s a major spread in talent. The Eagles were flush with 2026 draft picks at the start of training camp. Roseman knew he was armed with assets. He’s been aggressive moving them — eight trades since the start of camp, including seven that involved picks, will do that — and the Eagles’ cupboard looks different now. They’re still well-positioned because of previous trades and expected compensatory picks.

Here are the next two years of draft picks at the moment:

2026 projected Eagles draft picks:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3 (Jets)
Round 3 (compensatory)
Round 4
Round 4 (compensatory)
Round 5 (TBD, depends on conditions)
Round 5 (compensatory)

2027 projected draft picks:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6 (TBD)
Round 7 (Jets)
Round 7 (Ravens)

6. The Phillips deal is the headlining deadline-week transaction for Roseman, even if Jaire Alexander is a bigger name. There’s more name appeal for Alexander, but that weekend trade was taking a flier on a player at a minimal price. To put the compensation in perspective (an exchange of a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick), the Eagles paid more for Kary Vincent Jr. in 2021.

If you’re wondering who Kary Vincent Jr. is, that’s exactly the point.

Alexander wasn’t getting on the field in Baltimore and had been a healthy scratch. My understanding is that special teams had something to do with it, and the Eagles are acquiring Alexander with the hope that he can help in an unsettled depth chart. It’s not out of the question that a change of scenery allows Alexander to return to starting-caliber form, which he easily exhibited as a top-of-the-league player in Green Bay. He’ll compete with Adoree’ Jackson as the veteran who’s active but doesn’t contribute on special teams. Maybe he starts over Jackson, Jakorian Bennett, and Kelee Ringo. There’s also a possibility he can’t beat any of them out, and this is closer to the Shaq Leonard signing of 2023. I don’t think the Eagles made this move expecting a surefire fix at cornerback. At the price, it’s a dart throw worth taking. It should just be viewed accordingly.

7. If your gripe about the deadline is that they did not do enough at cornerback, that’s reasonable. I don’t know what cornerback they could acquire who would be a sure starter on the outside. (Perhaps Riq Woolen, although the Seahawks are also a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and Woolen is playing meaningful snaps.) It seemed the Eagles’ strategy was to create optionality for Fangio. With Michael Carter II and Alexander, the Eagles added two established veterans with diminished stocks. Roseman will let Fangio figure out the best combination with the two newcomers, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Jakorian Bennett, Kelee Ringo, and Jackson. The lack of a surefire No. 2 cornerback is a legitimate question, and the depth of options (and improved pass rush) seems to be Roseman’s attempt to solve it.

8. It should not be taken for granted that the Eagles made three trades in the past week alone. They might not work — and Roseman’s history at the trade deadline has been inconsistent — but the aggressiveness is laudable. He doesn’t sit on his hands, and he’s not blind to weak spots on the depth chart. Roseman might not always admit it publicly, but if you watch his actions, he identifies the problem areas that fans might gripe about.

In 2017, anyone watching practice in training camp realized the Eagles needed cornerback help. Roseman acquired Ronald Darby.

During training camp in 2022, safety appeared to be the Eagles defense’s weakness. He traded for C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

Last summer, the No. 3 wide receiver spot was a question. Roseman dealt for Jahan Dotson.

There are many examples of this. And you can shoot back with “that’s his job,” but this is not as common as you’d think in the NFL. Some general managers look at their depth chart after the draft and figure, these are our players. Draft, develop, sign needs in March, and let it ride. Roseman is working on the roster up until trade deadline day. (And even after, via waiver wire.)

Earlier this autumn, Oregon coach Dan Lanning offered an on-point quote about spending in college football:  “You better be invested in winning, and we spend to win. Some people save to have an excuse for why they don’t.”

This is how I’d describe the Eagles. The moves don’t always work, but they don’t lack investment or effort.