Panthers Outbid Eagles For Jaelan Phillips

Multiple teams were in the hunt for his signature, including the Eagles, but the 26-year-old said on Monday (via The Athletic’s Joe Person) that Carolina’s offer was “more attractive” than Philadelphia’s.

The Eagles moved a third-round pick for Phillips at the 2025 trade deadline, and he put up a strong second-half performance, though his counting tallies of two sacks and four tackles for loss do not show it. In the last nine games of the season, he led the defense with 44 pressures, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He finished the year with 76 total pressures and a 18.4% pass rush win rate, both top-10 marks among edge rushers.

Those results created a massive market for Phillips in free agency, and he cashed in. The Eagles will now be in line to pick up a third-round compensatory pick in the 2027 draft, per OverTheCap, as a consolation prize after being outbid by the Panthers.

Carolina did not need to make such an aggressive offer to Rasheed Walker, who drew surprisingly little interest in free agency after three years as the Packers’ starting left tackle. He was aiming for a multi-year contract with a $20MM AAV, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, comparable to what Dan Moore received from the Titans last year, but had to settle for a one-year, $10MM deal with the Panthers.

Moore’s contract did not age well, so teams may have been hesitant to pay for starting experience rather than true high-end talent. Walker has graded out well as a pass blocker, but his run-blocking grade has never been higher than 56.3 and his pass blocking efficiency has never topped 96.5.

Carolina is an excellent situation for Walker to try to push his valuation into the market he desires. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee, and given that the injury happened in the first round of the playoffs in January, he may not play in 2026. Walker will take his spot for the season in the hopes of a bigger payday this time next year.