Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman knows he's about to be a busy man over the next several days with the 2026 league year officially about to begin.
One of the biggest priorities for Roseman is to get a new contract signed by his top edge rusher, Jaelan Phillips, before he hits the free agency market. ESPN NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler shared some bad news with the Eagles fan base about another team that could be involved in trying to sign Phillips. This one will hurt as it is a team within the NFL East.
"Dallas must now pivot to free agency to land its pass rusher. It has monitored Trey Hendrickson dating back to the trade deadline. He's now a free agent. Jaelan Phillips, Odafe Oweh and Boye Mafe will be firmly on Dallas' radar in the coming days."
Cowboys could steal Jaelan Phillips away from the Eagles
Phillips is way too important a piece of the Eagles' defense to let him walk to the Cowboys. Last season, despite having just five sacks, he was ninth in the NFL in pressures (73) and fifth in hurries (57).
The Cowboys are going to be targeting a lot of former Eagles players since their new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, spent the last two years coaching Philly's defensive backs and turning Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean into All-Pros. Eagles free agents linebacker Nakobe Dean and safety Reed Blankenship are also expected to be on the Cowboys' radar.
Roseman is expected to be aggressive about getting a great edge rusher into Philadelphia, with Phillips being the number one option. If a deal can't get done and he signs elsewhere, Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard could be the backup plan, as the Eagles could trade a Day 2 pick for him.
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Losing Phillips would be heartbreaking since he is so good for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's defense, but losing him to the Cowboys would be even worse. The Eagles have to do everything they can to bring Phillips back and not see him head south.