The New York Giants conducted a rare inter-division trade late Wednesday night, as they acquired a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.
The Giants’ younger players like Elijah Chatman were more impressive in camp than Phillips
Moving on from Phillips makes a lot of sense, as he hadn’t exactly been turning heads during training camp and preseason. Also, there was virtually no lane for him to receive ample playing time, as Elijah Chatman and Jordan Riley have been more impressive as backup defensive tackles behind their stars up front, and both are expected to make some sort of impact during the regular season.
The lack of opportunity available for Phillips made him a likely cut candidate before the start of the season. Despite the trade being within the division, being able to get a draft pick that could turn into something highly impactful for a player who wasn’t going to play a whole lot is a win for general manager Joe Schoen.
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Phillips could have more opportunities to play with the Cowboys
Phillips, 31, has played nine seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills. Last season with the Bills, Phillips played in 14 games and recorded 2.5 sacks, five quarterback hits, and 15 total tackles. His Pro Football Focus grade was a very poor 35.8 for last season. The veteran signed with the Giants this offseason but never got the opportunity to play with the team in the regular season.
How the Cowboys will utilize Phillips remains to be seen, but it’s likely he would at least see the field more often than he would have with the Giants. As the preseason winds down, they will have to do more roster crunches that could include more small trades like the one that sent Phillips to Dallas.
