I'd argue that Andre Carter is evidence of the opposite: that barring a career-altering injury, sometimes a down year in a bad situation is just a down year in a bad situation, and that older pass rushers can frequently lose perceived value faster than they lose actual value. Belichick showed that, if used correctly, Carter still had a lot in the tank at age 33, and Phillips is 33 now.
I do think that Denver overused him last year, and Tennessee tried to this year. He's not an every-down DE anymore. But I'm sure that a team that already has 2 good DEs and just wants to get a strong rotation going would be happy to have him. Look at Seattle; they lost Clemons in FA, and responded by having Michael Bennett play a lot more snaps, which has just made him worse since he no longer has the advantage of being fresh all the time. Without even touching on Red Bryant leaving in FA and Mebane being out for the year (since they play a different position anyway), Seattle's been sorely missing a rotational pass rusher to mix with Bennett all year. Having a surplus of edge rushers also lets you design exotic packages where you have one of your DEs rushing from the interior, which Seattle did a lot with Bennett last year but hasn't really been able to do this year.
Kinda similar to what we saw last year, when Ninkovich and Jones played 95+% of snaps at DE all year, then were gassed when the playoffs came around. You need to have 3-4 guys who can rush the passer from the edge, because it's a position that wears guys out. Both in-game and over the course of the season, having a rotation is a huge advantage. As long as someone like Phillips is only being used for 15-30 plays per game as a rotational guy, he still has value. Not commensurate with what Tennessee paid him, but that's their problem.
