Free-agent linebacker Jaelan Phillips has agreed to a four-year, $120 million contract with the Carolina Panthers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal includes $80 million in guarantees, making Phillips one of the highest-paid defensive players in the NFL. The 26-year-old spent the second half of the 2025 season with the Philadelphia Eagles after being acquired from Miami at the trade deadline.

Phillips joined the Eagles in November in exchange for a 2026 third-round draft pick and quickly became a key contributor to their defense. He praised his time in Philadelphia, calling it "literally the greatest thing that has happened to me in my whole life, probably." Under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, whom he previously played for in Miami, Phillips appeared in eight regular-season games and recorded two sacks, seven quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and four passes defended.

A first-round pick out of Miami in 2021, Phillips has battled significant injuries throughout his career, including a torn Achilles in 2023 and a partially torn ACL in 2024. His durability showed improvement in 2025 when he played all 17 games for the first time since 2022. The former Dolphin leaves Philadelphia with 28 career sacks and 68 quarterback hits in 63 games.