Daily Norseman
The Minnesota Vikings made a trade that surprised many fans and pundits, as they dealt defensive tackle Harrison Phillips and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the New York Jets in return for a 2026 and a 2027 sixth-round pick. The Vikings also will pay roughly half of Phillips’ 2025 salary but still save over $3 million in salary cap space this season and $7.5 million next season. Phillips was a team captain and one of the most active in the community and among charities.
But he had also become redundant in a defensive tackle room that added Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave this offseason in free agency and with plenty of younger, up-and-coming talent in Jalen Redmond, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, and Elijah Williams, among others.
It can often be the case with teams in the NFL that a popular player who is an average performer on the field as he gets older, is retained over younger, ascending players. The older player brings valuable experience and leadership to the group, it is often said, even while he on-field performance looks increasingly mediocre. The comfort and nostalgia for the older player can often result in teams letting younger talent go, or using salary cap space inefficiently, which can create holes in the roster due to salary cap issues or when the older player eventually retires or the team finally admits to the obvious- that he is no longer performing to expectations, especially considering salary cap hit, and moves on from him- but often years too late.
The Vikings did the right thing in trading Phillips, despite his being a fan favorite and team captain, taking an objective, dispassionate view of his performance and value to the team compared to other options and acting accordingly. Too often teams hold on to older, descending players too long which hurts both performance on the field and the continuous effort to improve the roster. Phillips was a decent run stopper but offered little as a pash rusher. Those types of defensive tackles of Phillips’ veteran caliber can be had for around $2 million. Phillips’ salary cap hit was four times that.
The Vikings will now have more salary cap space to add or retain other player(s) and acquire an additional draft pick and improve another one. At the same time, trading Phillips allows the Vikings to keep another of their young and promising defensive tackles on the roster, mostly likely Elijah Williams but possibly Taki Taimani, who most likely would have been lost to another team otherwise. Williams or Taimani may not contribute as much as Phillips would have this season, but they will continue to develop as Jalen Redmond has done, to the point where they can contribute more down the road, which is important with two starting defensive tackles over age 30.
Ultimately taking an objective approach toward roster building contributes to a meritocracy in roster building, where players old and young know they need to perform to gain a roster spot and justify their...
