3 Reasons Why the Vikings Made the Harrison Phillips Trade
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings sent shockwaves throughout the fanbase when they dealt Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets.
The Vikings also sent a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Jets as part of the package, and in exchange, Minnesota received 2026 and 2027 sixth-round picks from New York. The trade came as a surprise to many considering Phillips has been a consistent starter and captain for the Vikings defense as well as a beloved player by the fanbase.
But was it a shortsighted move by the front office? Here are three reasons why the Vikings pulled off this trade to move on from their veteran defensive tackle.
Reasons Behind the Harrison Phillips Trade
Cap Space in 2026
Simply put, the Vikings are in salary cap hell next offseason based on their current financial situation. The Vikings were slated to be $65.8 million over the salary cap before this trade, giving them the worst cap situation in the entire league.
Phillips’ contract carries with it a nearly $9.2 million cap hit and by getting that contract off the books, the Vikings now save $7.5 million in salary cap space for next season. Even if Phillips were to play in Minnesota during 2025, he very likely would have been gone before the start of 2026’s free agency cycle.
Young Depth at DT
Over the past couple of years, the Vikings have found a way to stack some talented young players at the defensive tackle position. Namely, 2025 fifth-round pick Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has had a fantastic training camp and had even gotten some run with the first-team defense before this trade took place.
Now, Ingram-Dawkins could be in line to jump into the starting lineup, especially with Levi Drake Rodriguez continuing to battle with an injury. On top of those two names, Jalen Redmond had a strong conclusion to his 2024 season with the Vikings as a pass rusher while both Taki Taimani and Elijah Williams should be in the mix to make the final roster as well.
Another Move Coming?
The Minnesota Vikings have been rumored to be in the market to acquire a veteran wide receiver in the trade market. In order to pull such a move off, Minnesota would need to have draft capital at the ready.
Of course, the Vikings have each of their own picks in rounds one through three, but after that, the waters get murky due to last year’s Cam Robinson trade, and the Jordan Mason trade. Minnesota is already coming off a spring in which it only had five draft selections, and the Vikings likely want to try to avoid being in that position for the second year in a row.
As a result, it makes sense to bring in lower end picks from a different team that can be used towards a package to bring in another wide receiver while also freeing up the roster spot that would be given to said receiver.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this article.
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