Vikings Pull Off Bombshell Trade
Out of nowhere, the Minnesota Vikings executed their first trade of the summer on Wednesday evening.
The Vikings pulled off a bombshell trade on Wednesday, shaking up the roster with a surprising move that few saw coming. The deal signals a bold shift.
Evidently content with the roster depth at defensive tackle, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah shipped Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets.
The deal caused head scratches, as most didn’t perceive Phillips as an asset on the trade block.
Harrison Phillips’ Tenure with the Vikings Is Over
The New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings did trade business this week.
Vikings Trade Harrison Phillips to the Jets
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news: “ESPN sources: Vikings are trading DT Harrison Phillips and a 2027 7th-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2026 6th-round pick and a 2027 6th-round pick, pending Phillips’ physical. Phillips now joins Jowon Briggs as the second DT that the Jets traded for Wednesday.”
Minnesota will pay half of Phillips’ 2025 salary (about $3.7 million, per Ben Goessling) and gain some cap relief in 2026.
The two 6th-Round picks, most believe, will be used on a follow-up trade on an unknown date.
A Move That Blindsides Fans
Purple fans are fully accustomed to Adofo-Mensah’s trade-happy modus operandi, but nobody had Phillips involved in theoretical swaps.
However, upon closer examination of the depth chart, Minnesota is clearly elated about its interior defensive line depth, with Phillips apparently as the odd man out.
Sans Phillips, these are Minnesota’s DTs:
- Jonathan Allen
- Javon Hargrave
- Jalen Redmond
- Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
- Levi Drake Rodriguez
- Elijah Williams
- Taki Taimani
- Jonathan Harris
- Travis Bell
Minnesota will keep about six or seven of those men on the regular season roster.
Another Trade Incoming?
The other fascinating part of the Phillips deal is the potential for it to be a two-parter.
Credible NFL insiders reported Wednesday morning that Minnesota was in the market for an extra wide receiver. Jordan Addison will be suspended to start the 2025 season for three games, and injuries have wreaked havoc on players like Rondale Moore and Jalen Nailor.
With Nailor’s status up in the air for Week 1, another trade could be on the way for a wide receiver, with Adofo-Mensah now owning two additional 6th-Round picks.
Adam Thielen, Tyreek Hill, Chris Olave, Terry McLaurin, and Jakobi Meyers have been whispered as big-game targets, with others like Trey Palmer, Allen Lazard, and Kendrick Bourne in the rumor mill, too.
In theory, Minnesota could also make a deal for another starting cornerback, though most agree that wide receiver is a more pressing need.
Fantasy Life‘s Thor Nystrom tweeted after the Phillips move: “A different team asked about Harrison Phillips this afternoon in trade negotiations with the Vikings — they were told he’d already been traded to the Jets. Kwesi has been burning up the phone lines this past week — this is only the start of the trades. Buckle up.”
Phillips’ Legacy in Minnesota
Phillips was utterly beloved in the Twin Cities. A team captain, Phillips lived up to every inch of his contract(s) in Minnesota. He held down the guts of the Vikings’ defensive line when the franchise struggled to find competent DT talent.
He also served as the club’s foremost humanitarian with charitable measures aplenty.
All told, the 29-year-old played 51 games in Minnesota, logging 207 tackles, 17 QB hits, and 6.5 sacks.
More Reaction to the Trade
SI.com‘s Will Ragatz opined on Phillips and the trade: “He was a team captain last season who was a respected leader in the locker room and on the field. Phillips was set to enter this season as the Vikings’ starting nose tackle alongside new additions Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Instead, he returns to the AFC East, where he began his career with four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, who drafted him in the third round out of Stanford in 2018.”
“This move must signal that the Vikings feel quite confident in their depth at the defensive tackle position. In addition to Allen and Hargrave, they also have Jalen Redmond, Levi Drake Rodriguez, and rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins ready to go as part of their rotation.”
Nothing but pleasant memories will exist among Vikings fans regarding Phillips.
Ragatz added, “They’ve also been impressed by undrafted rookie Elijah Williams, who signed after attending rookie minicamp as a tryout player. Again, this is a complete surprise. There had been no rumors that Phillips was being shopped or anything along those lines. When he sat out of Wednesday’s Vikings practice, it was assumed to be due to injury.”
“One of the Vikings’ defensive leaders — and perhaps their most involved player in off-the-field community efforts — is gone less than three weeks before the start of the season.”
Vikings fans went from claiming Phillips as their single productive DT from the last half-decade while begging the Vikings to sign another one, to Minnesota finally adding more DTs this offseason, with Harrison Phillips becoming expendable.
The NFL moves fast.
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