MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins traded outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday morning in exchange for a third-round pick, the South Florida Sun Sentinel has confirmed.
ESPN was the first to report the move.
Phillips, the 2021 first-round pick from the University of Miami, has 25 tackles and 3.0 sacks this season. He has 26 career sacks in four-plus seasons. He had a career-best 8.5 sacks as a rookie and had 6.5 sacks, the second-best total of his career, in 2023. Phillips, who has had season-ending injuries in his past two seasons (Achilles, knee), is playing this season on his fifth-year option of his rookie contract.
This trade marks the first move made by Dolphins interim general manager Champ Kelly since he took over Friday, the day the team mutually agreed to part ways with longtime general manager Chris Grier.
There’s been speculation the Dolphins, who sank to 2-7 after last Thursday’s 28-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, would make moves by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline to collect draft capital for a rebuild.
There’s been a market league-wide for pass rushers and Phillips fits the bill in that regard.
Coach Mike McDaniel said he must separate his personal feelings for Phillips from the good of the team in the long term.
“As a head coach you have a unique balance where my job is clearly to prepare the team to win this football game that’s coming in now six days,” McDaniel said of Sunday’s Buffalo Bills matchup. “That being said, it’s vitally important that when you’re making decisions for an organization that I make my feelings clear on how things relate in the short term and the long term to be able to understand that no one wants to lose a good player.
“But you do things for the best interest of your football team in both the short and long term.”
Fullback Alec Ingold said the Phillips trade was tough to digest.
“Obviously going to miss seeing J.P. on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “He’s a great human who’s been through a lot in his career and has come out the other side with a lot of character and a lot of scars that show his toughness and his character. Tough to see a guy like that go, but you wish the best for him and definitely blessed with the time we had as teammates and excited for his future and what he can do to continue on to have a great career.”
Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb has also had his name mentioned in trade rumors, along with running back Jaylen Wright and cornerback Rasul Douglas.
Without Phillips, the Dolphins’ primary edge rushers include Chubb, Chop Robinson, last year’s first-round pick, and Matthew Judon.
Phillips’ departure marks a significant loss from the rebuild that started in 2019. Remaining members of that rebuild, which was vacated for the “win-now” philosophy that began in 2022 when McDaniel took over, are quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, right tackle Austin Jackson and offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg.
Homegrown departures from that rebuild, for different reasons, include defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, guard Robert Hunt, safety Jevon Holland, cornerback Noah Igbinoghene and defensive tackle Raekwon Davis.
Among the free-agent departures from the “win-now” movement are left tackle Terron Armstead, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive tackle Calais Campbell. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who seems unlikely to return next year, is out for the season due to a knee injury.
It’s unclear whether Kelly, hired in March, will be the Dolphins’ full-time general manager. Kelly served as Las Vegas’ interim general manager in 2023. It’s also unclear what type of schedule the Dolphins are on to attempt return to the playoffs or how they want to conduct the rebuild (totally through the draft or draft with significant veteran/free agent help).
As of now, the Dolphins’ 2026 eight selections include one first-round pick, one second-round pick, three third-round picks, one fourth-round pick, one fifth-round pick, and one seventh-round pick.
The Dolphins are 30-30 in the regular season under McDaniel. They’re 0-2 in the playoffs in that span.
McDaniel announced in late March/early April at the NFL owners meetings that the Dolphins were going to rely on youth and draftees moving forward, which marked a major strategic and philosophical switch from their previous approach.
The Dolphins have focused the top of their past two drafts on the line of scrimmage among Robinson, left tackle Patrick Paul, the 2024 second-round pick, defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, the 2025 first-round pick, and left guard Jonah Savaiinaea, the 2025 second-round pick.
McDaniel, speaking on the Phillips trade, said sometimes tough decisions must be made in football.
“You can avoid those if you’re hitting on all cylinders and winning football games,” he said. “We just lost this past week and if we want to make that a little easier on ourselves we just win football games that we have the ability to (win) instead of losing them.”
As for whether any other major trades might be made before Tuesday’s trade deadline, McDaniel offered no insight.
“Conversations happen every single year,” he said. “Sometimes there’s more reports than our actual reality. Often times that’s the case, but you’re always having conversations. You’re always ready for whatever. You’re ready for the terms of other teams to hit you with a blind side. And so whether or not I expect it, I’m always expecting the unexpected, so you’re ready for whatever.”