Tag: Adrian Phillips

Whirlwind ride for New England Patriots roster this offseason

Tom Brady is just one of the players to have gone or arrived with the New England Patriots in the offseason.

Tom Brady isn’t the onl New England Patriot on the move. The perennial AFC East champs have seen a huge roster turnover. Will Bill Belichick keep the dynasty going?

Phillip Dorsett signed with Seahawks

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Phillip Dorsett’s one-year deal with the Seahawks is worth $1,047,500 with $137,500 guaranteed. His base salary is $910,000 and he got a $137,500 signing bonus. He’ll count $887,500 against the cap with the minimum-salary benefit.

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4 things to know about new Patriots safety Adrian Phillips

What to know about the Patriots’ Adrian Phillips.

The Patriots signed safety Adrian Phillips to a two-year contract worth $3.5 million. He spent the last six seasons with the Los Angeles (formerly San Diego) Chargers.

Phillips signed with the Chargers originally as an undrafted free agent in 2014 following his college career with the Texas Longhorns, and his journey hasn’t been easy. In his first two seasons, Phillips was either released or waived eight times.

At, 28 years old, Phillips should be in the middle of his athletic prime and will get to experience those years with the Patriots. Bill Belichick, Steve Belichick, and Jerod Mayo should be getting a player who can contribute immediately.

Before he steps onto the field with New England, here’s what fans should know about their newest defensive back.

Phillips was placed on IR in 2019.

With Derwin James on injured reserve with a stress fracture in his foot, Phillips was set to be the starting strong safety opposite Rayshawn Jenkins. However, in the second week of the season, Phillips broke his arm and landed on the IR himself.

This cost the safety nine weeks of the regular season, and even after he returned in Week 12, he never truly saw full-time reps until the final game of the year. The good news is that the injury should not hamper his play later in career, and he should be all set by the time this season rolls around.

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Who are the highest-paid Longhorns in the NFL?

A list of the ten highest-paid former Longhorns in terms of guaranteed money.

There’s dozens of former Texas players currently active in the NFL, but it’s been a quiet offseason other than Colt McCoy, Adrian Phillips, and Hassan Ridegway agreeing to new deals. Continue reading “Who are the highest-paid Longhorns in the NFL?”

How Adrian Phillips fits in the Patriots defense

Adrian Phillips should be able to fit seamlessly in the New England Patriots defense.

The New England Patriots signed safety Adrian Phillips to a one-year deal last week, as they looked to strengthen the defense. With New England possessing a ton of talent on the defensive side of the football, one has to wonder how Phillips will fit into the Patriots plans defensively.

According to the most recent depth chart from OurLads.com, Phillips is slated to be the second safety behind Devin McCourty. This makes sense, given how consistently McCourty has played over the course of his career. Combined with McCourty, Patrick Chung should also be able to hold down the safety position. As far as depth goes, that’s where Phillips comes in.

Last season, he started the season as the starting safety, with Derwin James suffering an injury.  Phillips didn’t fare much better on the injury front, breaking his arm in Week 2. Even with the injury, he is one year removed from a 94-tackle season along with Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro nods. He brings physicality and a high motor to the table.

During his time in Los Angeles and beyond that, Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley has employed a 3-4 scheme. New England also runs a 3-4 scheme. Phillips should be comfortable with this, particularly with the way New England uses their safeties. Not only are the Patriots safeties expected to make plays in coverage, they should also not be afraid to tackle. Phillips certainly is not afraid to do that as well.

New England should feel comfortable plugging him in multiple game situations. He has the experience and veteran pedigree to warrant being trusted in difficult situations. If McCourty or Chung get hurt or need to sit out for a rep to rest, Phillips should be able to take over when needed.

Depth pieces are often viewed as second-tier players or players that don’t have as much value as the starters. This is not the case with Phillips.

Phillips should be able to find a role as an impactful depth player who gives an immediate boost to an aging safety position. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. In adding Phillips to the roster, New England has allowed themselves the opportunity to try different combinations at the position.

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The Adrian Phillips signing might mean less playing time for 2 Patriots

He’s definitely not Duron Harmon’s replacement.

New England Patriots safety Adrian Phillips is not Duron Harmon’s replacement. It just so happened that Phillips’ signing occurred within 24 hours of Bill Belichick’s decision to send Harmon to the Detroit Lions. But they don’t seem to be too deeply related.

Yes, Phillips plays the same position as Harmon, nominally. They are both safeties. Harmon was more of a free safety in 2019, working in the deep half of the defense, where he served as a ballhawk. That’s not really Phillips. He is a bigger, bruising safety who is just as likely to line up inside the box as he is to cover a tight end. Sound familiar?

Patrick Chung does that already in the Patriots’ defense. Chung has long been a versatile defensive back, who is just as competent as a run-defender as he is in coverage. The Patriots often use Chung as a hybrid linebacker, which is no small feat for a 210-pound defensive back. When Chung dealt with injuries, the team turned to Terrance Brooks, who wasn’t entirely dependable in that role. Brooks, largely a special teams player with the New York Jets, saw 27 percent of defensive snaps. Chung got 63 percent of defensive snaps.

It’s likely both of their roles will get scaled back. For Chung, the Patriots surely respect both his age, 32, and his physical playing style. Fewer snaps during the regular season could help him play more in the postseason. After Brooks’ struggles, the Patriots may want an upgrade for their backup strong safety.

Devin McCourty will get a huge workload as the team’s top free safety. He’s most likely to take on Harmon’s snaps.

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Report: Patriots sign former Chargers safety Adrian Phillips

The New England Patriots added depth at safety, signing Adrian Phillips.

In what has been a busy couple of days for the New England Patriots in free agency, the organization made a move on Thursday. They signed former Los Angeles Chargers safety Adrian Phillips to a two-year deal.

Phillips spent five seasons with the Chargers, after he was not selected in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Phillips had his best season in 2018. That year, he recorded 94 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one interception and nine passes defended. The strong safety earned first-team All-Pro honors and made the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.

Last season, he had injury issues. A broken arm slightly slowed down his production. He played in seven games, starting in five of them. He recorded 36 tackles, one of which was recorded for a loss.

This should provide depth at the position for a New England Patriots team that is aging at the position. Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung are both 33 years old. Chung has suffered a rash of injuries recently. Most recently, he hurt his ankle in the team’s Wild Card game against the Tennessee Titans, and had to leave in the first quarter.

As the New England Patriots continue their roster overhaul, Phillips should be able to provide veteran leadership on a defense that is going to see new faces next year. with the safety position aging for the organization, depth is a positive for the position.

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Pro Bowl safety, former Longhorn agrees to two-year deal with Patriots

Former Texas safety Adrian Phillips agreed to a two-year deal with the New England Patriots on Thursday.

Former Texas safety Adrian Phillips is no longer an NFL free agent.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports announced that Phillips agreed to a two-year deal with the New England Patriots on Thursday.

Phillips was a 2018 Pro Bowl selection that will bolster the Patriots secondary after safety Duron Harmon was traded to the Detroit Lions on Wednesday.

The versatile defensive back is also expected to contribute on special teams. Although his 2019 season was cut short with the Los Angeles Chargers due to a broken arm, Phillips compiled 94 total tackles, one interception, and nine passes defended in 2018.

Phillips was an undrafted free agent out of Texas in 2014 and has spent his entire professional career with the Chargers.

Report: Ex-Chargers’ Adrian Phillips agrees to deal with Patriots

The Los Angeles Chargers are losing another special teams ace.

The Chargers lost one of their best special teamers on Tuesday in Derek Watt. Two days later, they are losing another one and arguably one of their better defensive players from the past couple of seasons.

Safety Adrian Phillips has agreed to a two-year deal with the Patriots, according to Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson.

Phillips was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Texas in 2014. He spent a good chunk of his time early on in his career on the practice squad, but he broke out in 2018.

That year, Phillips set career-high marks in tackles (77), tackles for a loss (four), and passes defensed (nine) in 16 games. His hard work on special teams landed him on the Pro Bowl team and named First-Team All-Pro.

Los Angeles re-signed him to a one-year deal last offseason. Phillips saw an uptick in his snaps, but a forearm injury early on in the season limited him to seven games where he only amassed 32 tackles.