Pivotal Stretch For Eagles' New Difference Maker Will Start In Green Bay

PHILADELPHIA — Jaelan Phillips was not unhappy in South Florida.

The Eagles' new edge defender is about to become a father and is building a home in the Sunshine State, successfully navigating his play at the University of Miami into becoming the 18th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, all while staying in Dade County with the Dolphins.

Phillips, 26, has overcome concussions, an Achilles tear and a torn ACL to stay a difference maker with what Eagles GM Howie Roseman described as "freak ability."

At 6-foot-5 and 263 pounds there is little Phillips can't do as an edge defender.

The trip from Florida to the Delaware Valley comes with nastier weather and higher taxes, along with unfamiliar surroundings yet Phillips embraced it like repatriation from exile, moving from the 2-7 Dolphins to the 6-2 Eagles, the reigning Super Bowl champs who are the No. 1 seed in the NFC entering Week 10.

“This is literally the greatest thing that’s happened to me in my whole life, probably,” Phillips said after his first practice with with his new team on Thursday.

Along with Phillips' awe-inspiring athletic traits, he's also a very savvy player and person so his immediate thoughts on the trade that sent him from the moribund to the penthouse suite of the NFL was certainly part playing to the crowd but Phillips sees what he described as a pivotal moment in his NFL career.

“I just think it’s a pivotal point in my life, in my career,” Phillips said when asked about his comment. “I have a little baby boy coming. Coming here, obviously, contract year next year, … I just feel like this is an amazing opportunity for me.”

With nine games left in the regular season and a playoff run, Phillips has the opportunity to cash in on the biggest stages if he performs at a high level.

And Phillips has arguably never played better than his 2023 stint with current Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who was the defensive chief with the Dolphins that season.

Phillips recorded 6 1/2 sacks in eight games with Fangio in 2023.

“You got to wait and see how it shakes out, but just off the rip, obviously an incredibly talented team, winning culture, great defense, great defensive scheme, great DBs,” Phillips said of his new team. “I think everything is just matching up for me to be as productive as possible.”

Roseman agreed, calling the deal for a 2026 third-round pick, "an easy trade to make" and joking that it was a rare easy conversation to have with the gruff Fangio.

“Vic isn’t a man of many words,” Phillips said of Fangio and his relationship with him. “There haven’t been a ton of extensive conversations. But I think we just understand each other."

The Reinforcements

Phillips is healthy and had been playing extensively with the Dolphins so he will be thrown into the deep end of the pool at Green Bay on Monday night with an edge group that went from thin to deep since the Eagles last played on Oct. 26.

Along with Phillips, the Eagles are expected to get back Nolan Smith from his latest triceps injury and Brandon Graham will be available for the for the first time since returning from retirement.

“I would just love to be in any position to where I’m around great guys on a great team and a great culture, and that’s definitely what the Eagles organization is,” Phillips said. “So if they would want to have me back, I’d love to be here. But taking it day by day.

"What’s most important is taking care of business right now.”

For Phillips, it's "pivotal."

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