Eagles Face Cowboys Threat for Prized Game-Breaker

The Philadelphia Eagles were fortunate to have Jaelan Phillips as a member of the franchise for eight games in the 2025 regular season and the playoffs. The biggest question for the franchise right now — outside of AJ Brown's future — is whether the partnership will continue into 2026.

This has been an open discussion for weeks at this point. On the bright side, The Athletic's Zach Berman said on March 2 that Phillips is expected to be Philadelphia's "top priority" in free agency. On the downside, if Phillips reaches the open market, the competition for his services will immediately increase. The New England Patriots have been a team linked to Phillips already this offseason. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer also mentioned the Dallas Cowboys as a potential threat while citing a connection with Christian Parker.

The Eagles free agent is someone to watch

Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips (50) walks off the field after win against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

"Jerry Jones’s message to the Dallas press got my attention. It should get your attention, too," Breer wrote. "The Cowboys’ owner, now headed into his 38th NFL season, put it bluntly over the weekend: 'I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have.' Based on Jones’s history of being conservative in free-agent spending over the years, it’s understandable if you’re skeptical. But there is evidence of some shifting strategy, in particular with the trades last year for George Pickens and Quinnen Williams, two moves that sandwiched the blockbuster deal that sent Micah Parsons out of town.

"So who could help Dallas? My sense is they’ll at least kick the tires on Crosby. Trey Hendrickson is older, but is a year removed from back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons, and wouldn’t cost draft picks. Jaelan Phillips would be another option at edge and who was with new coordinator Christian Parker last year in Philly. Corner looms as another need, with Seattle’s Tariq Woolen and New Orleans’s Alontae Taylor at the top of that market."

Phillips is just 26 years old and is one of the top overall pending free agents in the National Football League. When healthy, he is a game-breaker and showed that in his brief stint in Philadelphia with pressures left and right on opposing quarterbacks. If the Eagles don't get a deal done before free agency kicks off on March 9, then competition will be there. Imagine if the Cowboys were to swoop in and nab him out from underneath the Eagles? That'd be a brutal sight.