It appears as though Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has struck gold again, this time in the form of edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, who the Eagles acquired from the Miami Dolphins for a 2026 third-round pick prior to the NFL trade deadline.
Phillips’ debut with the Eagles couldn’t have gone much better, as he hit the ground running with his new team and made a major impact during Philadelphia’s 10-7 victory over the Packers in Green Bay on Monday night.
Phillips was on the field for 78 percent of Philadelphia’s defensive snaps in Green Bay (53 snaps), and he made the most of his opportunity. During that time, Phillips recorded six total tackles, including one tackle for a loss, and two quarterback hits. He also had a forced fumble and a clutch fumble recovery in the closing minutes of the game that helped seal the win for the Eagles. This is exactly the type of production that the team was hoping for from the new addition.
It was only one game, but Phillips sure looks like he can be an impact player at a major position of need for Philly, and thus he seems like another excellent addition by Roseman.
After the game, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was extremely complementary of Phillips and what he brings to the field.
"Obviously you guys saw it. It felt like he was very disruptive," Sirianni said of Phillips. "The rush was active all game from all parts. We did a good job of rushing as a unit. That fourth-down play, I think, signifies that physicality that the man has. I think about his week of practice and how he goes about his business.
“Man, he loves football,” Sirianni added of Phillips. “He loves working. You can just see the way he was running around at practice, his motor is constantly, constantly running, just pushing to get better. It was a really big impact that he made tonight for his first game as an Eagle. I've got to look at the tape, but he did a lot of good things that you could see."
For Phillips, moving from a Dolphins team that was well outside of the playoff picture in the AFC to the NFC-leading Eagles was a dream come true that he referred to as “literally the greatest thing that has happened to me in my whole life, probably.” Upon joining the defending champs, Phillips checked his ego at the door, and he’s just looking to contribute in any way that he can. Monday night was a great start.
"I'm just glad I can come in and help the team," Phillips said after the game. "My biggest thing coming in, no ego, just wanted to earn the respect of my teammates and the coaches and the fans and everybody. All I can really do on my end is obviously do my job and know my plays and everything like that, but just play with fanatical effort. That's what I do, play in and play out."
It sure seems like the Eagles got a good one in Phillips, who is still just 26 years old, which means that, if things continue to trend in the right direction, he could potentially be a piece of the puzzle moving forward for Philadelphia well beyond the current campaign.