Overpaid or Not, Panthers Deserve Good Grade for Jaelan Phillips Signing

Whether you want to label him overpaid or not, it's not hard to see why the Carolina Panthers had to pay up to bring Jaelan Phillips in.

Former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It isn't often you see a player get labeled as overpaid and the team that signed him getting praised for it, but that is the case with the Carolina Panthers' signing of edge rusher Jaelan Phillips.

Bleacher Report's Moe Moton previously labeled Phillips as the most overpaid player at his position, but a separate article from from Moton gives the Panthers a "B" grade for the signing even though he was given the aforementioned label.

Moton lays out exactly why Phillips could be overpaid, but also why he might be able to earn the money Carolina gave him.

"If Phillips avoids significant injuries, he'll lead the Panthers in sacks and pressures, but his track record suggests his pass-rushing numbers may be closer to average than exceptional," Moton explained.

Why Philips can be considered overpaid

Former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Phillips has shown some promise during his career, his injury history and overall sack production doesn't make paying him $30 million annually a no-brainer at all.

At $30 million per year, Phillips ranks tied for ninth among all edge rushers and we know he is not a top-10 edge rusher in the league.

Phillips posted 22 sacks over the first 42 games of his career, but he then appeared in just 12 games between 2023 and 2024 after suffering an Achilles tear and torn ACL in back-to-back years.

He returned to action in 2025 and managed to play a full season, but Phillips only posted five sacks between contests with the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.

It's clear the Panthers are hoping Phillips being another year removed from his ACL tear will yield better results and that can often be the case with players who have sustained the injury.

Why Panthers had to sign Phillips

General manager Dan Morgan. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Panthers finished 24th in pass-rush win rate last season and were tied for the third-fewest sacks in the NFL. That's simply not going to cut it for a Panthers team looking to take a step forward from simply being a playoff contender.

Carolina needed to add more help for Nic Scourton, who led all Panthers edge rushers in sacks with five, and needed to replace D.J. Wonnum and couldn't rely on Patrick Jones to step into the role.

There weren't a ton of attractive options available in free agency because teams simply don't let good edge rushers go often, and that was going to drive up the price for those who were available.

Even with all of his issues, Phillips was one of the best available edge rushers and that was going to make him expensive.

When you break it all down, it's not hard to see why Carolina had to fork up the dough for Phillips and the Panthers deserve credit for getting aggressive in doing so.

Now, we'll see if he can justify his contract on the field.