The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be looking to add more explosiveness to their pass rush this offseason, and one interesting name to watch, especially if he hits the market, is edge rusher Jaylan Phillips.
Phillips spent the early part of his career with the Miami Dolphins before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2025 season, giving him a fresh start as a depth defensive back. When healthy, Phillips has consistently displayed high-end traits, including elite explosiveness and the ability to generate pressure quickly. However, injuries have been the biggest factor preventing him from fully breaking out into a consistent double-digit sack creator.
advertise
During the 2025 season between Miami and Philadelphia, Phillips showed the same disruptive flashes in the rotation, creating pressure and impacting games even in the Eagles’ pass-rushing rotation. Phillips finished the 2025 season with five sacks and a forced fumble. A combination of the benefits of multiple injuries in his career and durability issues could impact his value heading into free agency.
For Tampa Bay, Phillips represents more of an upside than some of the older, veteran edge rushers expected to hit the market.
The Buccaneers have shown they’re willing to rotate defensive linemen to keep the pass rush fresh, and adding a player with Phillips’ athleticism could help increase the team’s ceiling without forcing them to make a long-term commitment. From a financial perspective, his market could be interesting. According to Spotrac, players with strong traits but recent injury history often receive short-term, incentive-heavy deals. This structure could make sense if Tampa Bay wants to bet on the upside while managing risk.
The question is whether he can be a true complement to Diaby — or at least stay healthy enough to do so — and whether Philadelphia will let him hit the open market.
This article originally appeared on Buccaneers Wire: Jaelan Phillips could be Buccaneers’ high edge target
