Following a mediocre showing against the cross-stadium rival Giants in Saturday’s preseason clash, New York Jets general manager overhauled his defensive line in the span of a few hours on Wednesday with the acquisitions of Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs.
Phillips immediately becomes a starting option alongside star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams — Gang Green picked him up from the Minnesota Vikings along with a 2027 seventh-round draft pick for a 2026 sixth-rounder and a 2027 seventh-rounder.
The 29-year-old started all 51 games over his three-year stint in Minnesota following four years with the Buffalo Bills. He has been plenty consistent, accounting for 60 run stops since the start of the 2023 campaign. Last season, which featured 56 combined tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, Phillips missed a minute 5.3% of his tackle attempts.
He is in the first year of a two-year, $15 million contract extension that he signed with Minnesota in September, and the Vikings have agreed to pay half of the $7.4 million he is owed in 2025. That means the Jets are picking up a potential game-changing defensive tackle for just $3.7 million this year.
Phillips’ acquisition came shortly after the Jets picked Briggs up from the Cleveland Browns. A seventh-round pick last year, he appeared in six games with 13 combined tackles and a fumble recovery.
He will be added to the depth chart, which saw the Jets previously pick up Byron Cowart, Derrick Nnadi, and Jay Tufele.
While Cowart is out with an ankle injury, Tufele’s hopes of making the Jets is in jeopardy, while Nnadi’s mediocre showing since his arrival all but ensures that he won’t make the 53-man roster.
