We would like to formally welcome the Dallas Cowboys to the 2024 offseason. It may be mid-August, but the front office has finally started to cook with gas after it spent the last five months watching their enemies enjoy five-star meals while they waited for the going-out-of-business sale to start grocery shopping.
In a span of 24 hours, Dallas traded for veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and signed free-agent pass rusher Carl Lawson, who has been coveted by Cowboys fans all offseason. Lawson brings a needed pass-rushing element in light of Sam Williams' season-ending injury.
Phillips, on the other hand, is a behemoth one-tech tackle Mike Zimmer can deploy behind Mazi Smith. While Lawson is a savvy pickup, nose tackle was a much bigger need than edge rusher. Before the trade, the position was in a much worse state than last season, when it was a glaring problem.
Cowboys fans are over the moon about the trade. Not only did it plug the biggest hole on the roster, but Phillips brings an attitude and competitive edge that the defense oftentimes lacked under Dan Quinn. Both intangibles were on full display when Phillips' Bills played the Eagles last season.
New Cowboys DL Jordan Phillips getting into it with Eagles fans a year ago
— Cowboys Nation (@CowboysNation) August 15, 2024
pic.twitter.com/j8nap48vA1
During the game, Phillips confronted one heckling Eagles fan face-to-face. It thankfully didn't escalate, but the tense exchange proves that Phillips is a perfect fit on the Cowboys.
Phillips took to Instagram after the game to explain why he confronted the fan. The 32-year-old believes a rowdy crowd and fans are good for the game, but he claimed the fan threatened him and his family. If true, that fan shouldn't be allowed back inside Lincoln Financial Field.
Believe it or not, that wasn't Phillips' only run-in with the Eagles in 2023.
In an attempt to stop Philly's panned tush-push play in Week 12, Phillips jumped offsides and barreled over Eagles offensive lineman Cam Jurgens. The now-retired Jason Kelce called the play dirty and was adamant that Phillips should have been fined. The DT did not take kindly to that.
"You look at the tush push, he (Kelce) dives at somebody's knees every play," Phillips said. "He tries to roll them up, so for somebody to speak on playing dirty -- I don't think he has any right or any mean to call for a fine when he does a whole bunch of stuff. I just think it's kind of crazy for him to even mention that. I'm 335 pounds. How am I gonna stop regardless. How do I know that the ball wasn't going. And after I saw him move I put my eyes on him and I'm gonna go."
A second-round pick in 2015, Phillips has been around for quite a while. While seven of his nine seasons were spent with the Bills and Dolphins, it seems he has a deep-rooted disliking for the Eagles and their fans. While no fan base is perfect, Eagles fans' reputation is the opposite of upstanding.
The Cowboys and Eagles are once again expected to duke it out for the NFC East crown this season. Those games always have plenty of juice, but Phillips' arrival will add an extra coating of intensity to the rivalry. He was destined to end up in Dallas one way or another.
