The Dallas Cowboys have executed their second trade in as many weeks, stunning and exciting all of Cowboys Nation.
As reported by several news outlets, the Cowboys sent a 2025 6th round pick to the New York Giants in exchange for DT Jordan Phillips and a 2025 7th round pick. It was a rare intra-divisional trade between the two rivals.
Phillips was just signed in free agency by the Giants, but it appears they are confident to move forward with Dexter Lawrence, Jordon Riley, and D.J. Davidson at the nose tackle position.
This made Phillips expendable, and the Giants were also likely hoping to shed his $1.781 million cap hit for the 2024 season. The Giants’ loss is the Cowboys’ gain, however.
Much like the acquisition of former DT Johnathan Hankins, Phillips’ size alone (6’6″ 341 lbs) brings an element to the Cowboys defense that has been sorely lacking.
Let’s take a look at the path he took to get here to Dallas and just how he can help take the defense to another level.
Swimming With the Dolphins
Jordan Phillips was drafted in the 2nd round (52nd overall) by the Miami Dolphins in the 2015 NFL Draft. He played his college ball in the Big XII at the University of Oklahoma.
The behemoth of a man played a limited role as a rookie, appearing in 15 games with the opportunity to start four of them. He totaled 19 tackles, two tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks in his first season.
His next two seasons in Miami saw him play increased snaps, and he started 22 games over that same span. Phillips’ primary role as a 1-technique defensive end is to take up blocks and allow the linebackers to roam freely, so his stats are limited.
Yet, he still managed 39 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks before entering the final year of his rookie deal.
The Dolphins chose to trade him away just four games into that final season of his contract, and the trade was executed with a surprising partner.
East Coast Warrior
We need some deep researchers to find out if Jordan Phillips is the first player to be involved in the rare intra-divisional trade between two rivals TWICE in his career.
After wearing out his welcome in Miami, the Dolphins shipped him up the East coast to the rival Buffalo Bills. Phillips proved the Dolphins should have offered him a second contract.
In his first full season in Buffalo, Phillips showed a different side of his game that Miami never utilized. Still performing his 1-technique duties, he recorded a career-high 9.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits along with 13 tackles for loss.
Phillips has been effective his entire career, but the 2019 version is by far his best performance over the course of a full season.
That performance earned him a lucrative contract with an NFC West team after Buffalo allowed him to test free agency.
Sand Under His Feet, But No Beach
Jordan Phillips’ time in Buffalo lasted less than two full seasons before he departed for the sandy desert of Arizona. The Cardinals signed Phillips to a 3yr/$30 million deal.
A hamstring injury halfway through the 2020 season landed Phillips on Injured Reserve. He returned later in the season, only to reaggravate the injury.
The 2021 season started with Phillips still on Injured Reserve. He would appear in just nine games before being released before completing the final year of his contract.
Phillips appeared in just 18 games in two years in Arizona before returning to play for the Buffalo Bills during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
A Fresh Start
Phillips thought his fresh start would be just a few minutes’ drive away from his home in Buffalo, but after signing with the New York Giants in free agency, he is on his way to Texas to play for the Dallas Cowboys.
Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer was quoted earlier on Wednesday saying that the defense still lacked a nose tackle. Lo and behold, a few hours later, the news breaks that Phillips is on his way to Oxnard, California to join his new team at training camp.
Did Zimmer already know the deal was going down, and he was trying to sound prophetic? Or did Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones listen to their defensive coordinator and go out and get what he was asking for?
We might never know the answer to that question, but what honestly matters is that the Cowboys finally have a true 1-technique that they lost when Johnathan Hankins walked out the door.
A Beast In the Middle
Mike Zimmer’s defenses have always had a large presence at defensive tackle, so this move shouldn’t come as such a surprise to Cowboys Nation. Names like Linval Joseph and Domata Peko come to mind.
The Cowboys drafted Mazi Smith in the 1st round of last year’s draft, and although he has shown improvement this offseason, his last reported weight was around 310 pounds.
Dallas alluded to the fact that they really don’t want him playing too much heavier, but that leaves a 335 pound hole at 1-tech left behind by Johnathan Hankins.
Enter Jordan Phillips, who comes in heavier than any other defensive tackle the Cowboys have put on the field in recent memory. He will force offensive linemen to double-team him on most snaps, freeing up his fellow defensive linemen and linebackers to flow to the football.
He is a little longer in the tooth, but keep in mind that he has registered at least 0.5 sacks in every season he has played in the NFL, including a career high 9.5 just four years ago in Buffalo.
I’m excited about what Jordan Phillips can do for this defensive front, and you should be, too.