The Philadelphia Eagles have one big offseason decision to make with edge rusher Jaelan Phillips after making a massive impact on the defense in the second half of the 2025 season.
Phillips finished with 28 tackles, 17 pressures, seven quarterback hits, four tackles for loss, four pass deflections, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in eight games. After a whole first half of the year struggling to get to the quarterback, Phillips completely flipped the Eagles and made them a top-five defense in the second half of the season.
Now the Eagles face a tough decision about whether to bring him back. If they do bring him back, one option could be to franchise tag him, but that would come at a cost.
Eagles' option to use the franchise tag on Jaelan Phillips
Bleacher Report writer Gary Davenport suggested six players in the NFL who would make sense to be franchise tagged during the offseason. Phillips was one of the players on the list, but the Eagles would pay the ultimate price.
"Phillips is entering the prime of his career and has no shortage of potential. But he also has a fairly extensive injury history—one that makes signing the five-year veteran to a long-term deal something of a risky proposition. The projected franchise tag for defensive ends isn't cheap--$26.6 million. The Eagles are also short on cap space, with $10.4 million in wiggle room. But Philly also doesn't have much depth on the edge, and losing Phillips would be a major blow, so the tag could be a possibility."
According to Spotrac, Phillips' AAV estimated market value is at $17.3 million. That seems much cheaper than the $26.6 million franchise tag. If the Eagles were smart and wanted Phillips, they could place the franchise tag on him so he doesn't hit the market, and they can negotiate a new deal.
Another option would be to try to get the deal done at $17 million per year, as that's much better than the extra $9 million they would have to pay with the tag. Or the Eagles could just let him walk and roll with Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith, who both got better late in the season, but that was more because of Phillips' impact.
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The Eagles might be forced to cough up a lot of money for Phillips, but it's better to get a long-term deal done than settle for the expensive franchise tag.