Jets new DT wasted no time firing up fans with his first comments

In his first summer as general manager of the New York Jets, Darren Mougey has been making moves. Maybe they are not the splash moves fans might be hoping for, but Gang Green has improved in the days leading up to Tuesday's roster cut deadline.

Most of the moves made came on the defensive line — Mougey brought both Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips to Florham Park before shipping Derrick Nnadi back to Kansas City. Nnadi was unlikely to make the roster, and Phillips serves as a clear upgrade.

Phillips, a former third-round pick out of Stanford, is no stranger to playing in the AFC East. He spent the first four seasons of his NFL career in Buffalo before signing with Minnesota. The 29-year-old admitted he was surprised the Vikings traded him, but insisted “the arrow is pointing up” in his inaugural media session with the Jets.

“This is a win now mindset,” Phillips told reporters on Monday. “We are a good football team.”

Harrison Phillips is doing his best to get Jets fans excited for Week 1

It was exactly the kind of line fans in green wanted to hear after already being amped about the acquisition. But the seven-year NFL veteran didn’t stop there.

When the Jets and Vikings played in London last season, Phillips said his goal was to sack Aaron Rodgers — which he completed — and now he’ll have the opportunity to do it again on Sept. 7 when the Jets take on Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The biggest asset the Omaha native provides the Jets is consistency. He started all 17 games in each of the last three seasons in Minnesota and was a solid contributor for one of the league’s better defenses. His numbers dropped off a bit in 2024, but in 2023, he amassed 92 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and six QB hits.

Phillips also told reporters that Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told him that he should be excited about landing in New York, while hyping up the state of the roster to the newest Jets defensive lineman.

For a new regime fighting to set a tone, the addition is less about a headline and more about a building block. Phillips is a new voice, a proven body, and — judging from his first comments — a reminder that the hunger to end that 14-year playoff drought within both the locker room and fanbase is very real.

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