One thing Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata knows better than anything is a good pass rusher, and he knows his team got a good one.
One of the highlights leading up to the NFL's trade deadline was the Eagles striking a deal with the Miami Dolphins that included edge rusher Jaelan Phillips in the trade to Philadelphia for a 2026 third-round pick. Mailata remembers playing Phillips two years ago when the Eagles beat the Dolphins 31-17.
While Mailata and Lane Johnson were helping the Travis Manion Foundation raise money at Chickies and Pete's, NBC's John Clark caught up with the Eagles' starting left tackle to get his thoughts on the Phillips move. Mailata gave Phillips credit for making his and Johnson's lives tough in 2023 and is happy to have him on the Eagles now.
“Super excited. He’s awesome. The guy has a lot of tools in his bag. They’re not rusty. He sharpens them. He has a lot of answers for stuff we do. I’m glad he is on our side now.”
Phillips did not make it easy on the Eagles the last time they played
In that Eagles win over the Dolphins, Phillips and his then-defensive coordinator, the familiar name of Vic Fangio, were disruptive forces on Jalen Hurts and the offense. Phillips finished that game with seven tackles, two quarterback hits, two pressures, one tackle for loss, and one sack in their loss.
With the past behind them, Phillips will no longer do that in games. Instead, he will take it to the practice field with Mailata and Johnson to make it extra tough every day.
The Eagles' edge rushers are looking a lot better entering the second half of the season after just 4.5 sacks from the group. Phillips is joining Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, and Josh Uche.
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Philly needs this group to step up and get them back to the times they remember when Graham and Josh Sweat were doing the same thing the last few years. Phillips should be able to help with that massively.