Despite frequently being mentioned as a trade target, Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips would prefer to stay in Miami this season.
“I love this team,” Phillips said this week (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). He added that he “ideally” would remain a Dolphin through the Week 9 trade deadline, but acknowledged that a potential move was “completely out of my control.”
Phillips is entering the final year of a rookie deal with virtually no talk of an extension. His expiring contract and the Dolphins’ 1-5 record has made him a frequent inclusion on lists of potential trade assets.
The 2021 first-round pick gave the team a strong return on their initial investment right away with 15.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in his first two seasons. He seemed to be taking another step in 2023 with six sacks and 11 TFLs in his first eight games before his year came to a sudden end with a torn Achilles. Phillips returned the next season, but only had one sack and one TFL in four games before a partially torn ACL sidelined him for the majority of a second season in a row.
If Miami is not interested in extending Phillips, they should be open to moving him before the deadline. This season, he only has one sack and one tackle for loss, but three or more pressures in five of his six games, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That should be enough to keep teams in need of pass-rushing help interested in the coming weeks.
Other edge rusher trades this season offer a framework for a potential Phillips deal. Bryce Huff was traded from the Eagles to the 49ers conditional fifth-round pick that can be upgraded to a fourth-rounder, while Odafe Oweh was moved for safety Alohi Gilman and a Day 3 pick swap. Both players had better production in previous years but more recent downswings, like Phillips, suggesting that he could fetch a fourth- or fifth-round selection in a trade.
The Dolphins will have to weigh that against the potential for a 2027 compensatory pick if Phillips signs with a new team in free agency. His strong per-game stats in his career but lack of production in the last two years makes it hard to predict what he might fetch in free agency without some positive regression to the results of his early seasons.