Tag: Jacob Phillips

Texans training camp: LB Jacob Phillips making most of early reps

Jacob Phillips has made several nice plays for the Houston Texans since the start of training camp.

Texans linebacker Jacob Phillips was expected to be a staple in coverage after helping LSU hoist its first national title in over a decade during the 2019 season.

He just wasn’t supposed to pop in Houston.

Phillips, a third-round pick by the Cleveland Browns, has been effective when healthy, especially as a third linebacker in coverage. Therein lies the keyword: healthy.

After a promising rookie that saw him finish with 25 tackles, he’s missed over 30 games the past three years, including the entire 2023 season. Despite the injury bug, Houston elected to bet on the upside by offering a one-year deal.

Through four training camp practices, the gamble has paid off.
Phillips has looked fluid in coverage, mainly when tasked to face off against running backs. During 11-on-11 drills Saturday, he picked off a pass intended for J.J. Taylor out of the backfield.

On Monday, Davis Mills tried to find rookie Jawhar Jordan out in the flats. Phillips extended his body to get a finger on the ball for a deflection.

From a play-style standpoint, Phillips has lived up to expectations, but the best ability is availability. He finished the 2022 season on the injured reserve with a torn pec suffered against Washington. During the preseason last year, a similar muscle torn again.

“It’s the worst part of this game, seeing guys get injured and especially you see how hard they work,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said last August. “So it hurts. I hurt for Jacob, and this is why we’re teammates and why we support each other.”

The Texans are currently without third-year starter Chrisitan Harris, who’s dealing with soft tissue damage in his leg. He’s not expected to miss much time, but Houston might want to ease him up to the speed so a second injury doesn’t occur.

Phillips, for now, continues to work with the second-team unit while former Alabama standout Herny To’oTo’o replaces Harris opposite Azeez Al-Shaair. That doesn’t mean with a few more extra practices he won’t eventually take off.

Former Browns linebacker Jacob Phillips signs with the Houston Texans

Phillips heads to Houston

After being drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft, Jacob Phillips spent the first four years of his career with the Cleveland Browns. Injuries have plagued the young linebacker, who has only appeared in 20 games over his four seasons in Cleveland.

Now Phillips moves on as he signs a one-year deal with the Houston Texans. If Phillips can stay on the field, it is hard to argue he lacks the athleticism to be a solid player. He needs to grow stronger and work on his pursuit angles, but he has excellent range and sideline-to-sideline speed.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

If the money were right, I would’ve been ok with Phillips coming back, but it makes a ton of sense the team decided to move on. Now the Browns are betting on another athletic linebacker who hasn’t played up to his ability, Devin Bush. Now will the Browns add to the linebacker room in this weeks draft?

Texans sign Browns LB Jacob Phillips to one-year deal

The Houston Texans are bringing in linebacker depth by signing former Browns standout Jacob Phillips.

Linebacker depth was a concern for the Houston Texans entering the 2024 NFL draft. Now, it’s moved down the pecking order. 

The Texans agreed to terms with former Cleveland Browns linebacker Jacob Phillips on a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Phillips should fill a similar role to that of rotational linebacker Denzel Perryman, who signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Phillips, 25, spent four seasons in Cleveland after being drafted out of LSU in 2020. Surprisingly, the pick belonged to the Texans, who traded it to the Browns in exchange for running back Duke Johnson. 

During his time with the AFC North franchise, Phillips recorded 88 tackles, three sacks and five pass deflections. His best season came in 2022 when he notched 46 tackles and two sacks. 

Phillips missed the entirety of the 2023 season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle during a preseason game against Washington. The year prior, he missed the final two months of the regular season after suffering a similar injury during a regular season game against Baltimore in October. 

A native of Nashville, Phillips should fill in as a multi-purpose replacement for both Christian Harris and Azeez Al-Shaair. After a breakout season with the Titans in 2023, Houston elected to reunite Al-Shaair with DeMeco Ryans, signing him to a three-year deal worth $34 million. 

Just because the Texans added Phillips doesn’t mean they won’t target a linebacker. In four years, the former third-round pick has been limited to 20 games due to injury. Currently, Houston only has Henry To’oTo’o as an option with extensive reps under his belt. 

The Texans own nine picks in the draft, though general manager Nick Caserio has been known for working the phone lines in trades. Last season, Houston made a franchise record eight trades, including moving up to No. 3 with the Arizona Cardinals to acquire eventual Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. 

“We’ll see if that changes or stays static,” Caserio said Thursday when asked about the draft strategy. “Given our history, it will probably change at some point.”

Browns mailbag: Questions at linebacker, Cade York, and running back

Do the Browns need to add to the linebacker, running back, and kicker rooms?

The Cleveland Browns are in Philadelphia this week for joint practices on Monday and Tuesday with the Eagles. Kevin Stefanski has already said that it will be mostly backups on Thursday after the starters get their time in during the joint practices. Some roster questions remain after the struggles of kicker Cade York and injuries to linebacker after losing Jacob Phillips for the season, as well as backup running back Jerome Ford being sidelined with a calf injury.

So do the Browns need to explore available options now or later to fill potential roster holes? Let’s take a look at these questions and more in this week’s Browns mailbag.

Browns follow up loss vs. Commanders with plethora of roster moves

The Browns made a flurry of roster moves.

The Cleveland Browns have battled injuries all training camp, and that did not slow down as they took on the Washington Commanders on Friday night. It has resulted in linebacker Jacob Phillips landing on Injured Reserve among other roster moves the team was forced to make to fill their 90-man roster back up.

Here are all four roster moves the Browns made today as they continue to work through injuries.

Injury Update: LB Jacob Phillips will miss season with torn pectoral

Another tough break for the young linebacker

Young linebacker Jacob Phillips cannot catch a break after another torn pec sustained against the Washington Commanders will cost him his 2023 season with the Browns. Phillips has battled many injuries during his four-year career with the Browns and it’s tough to see another season lost.

Phillips figured to be one of the major contributors to the linebacker room that didn’t add any talent and mostly just retained what they had. With Phillips out will the team look to add a veteran or does this open up a roster spot for a young player like Mohamoud Diabate or Jordan Kunaszyk who was an excellent special teams player for the Browns in 2022?

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

LB Jacob Phillips exits vs. Commanders with a shoulder injury

Phillips will not return.

After being selected in the third round by the Cleveland Browns, linebacker Jacob Phillips has yet to find any sort of health. He has missed substantial time in every season of his career, and he has now left their second preseason game against the Washington Commanders with a shoulder injury as well. He will not return. Phillips joins wide receiver Elijah Moore and cornerback A.J. Green III as players to depart with the medical staff.

In a linebacker room where every depth position is up for grabs, this is not great news for a player who has failed to make an impact in three seasons.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

50 days until Browns season opener: 5 players to wear 50 in Cleveland

The countdown has reached the last of the 50’s with just 50 days remaining

The Cleveland Browns have traveled to the Greenbrier in West Virginia for training camp to begin with 50 days remaining before the start of the season. In team history, there have been a total of 29 different players to wear the number 50. The first to wear it was John Yonakor who wore it from 1946 until the end of the 1949 season. The number is currently worn by linebacker Jacob Phillips who has worn it for the last three seasons since he was drafted in the third round.

It will be interesting to see if Phillips can make the 53-man roster after a really bad season in 2022 before injury cut the season short.

1 veteran player on the roster bubble at each position group for the Browns

After overhauling chunks of their roster, which veterans could find themselves on the bubble as training camp nears?

The Cleveland Browns and general manager set out to add talent not only to positions of need but all over their roster this offseason, and may not be done yet. While the microscope is on the defensive tackle room given how abysmal it was a year ago (meaning second-year player Perrion Winfrey will need to lock in this summer), there are now veterans on the roster bubble in every room.

Who else joins Winfrey as veteran roster bubble candidates as the Browns look to get training camp underway in three weeks? Here is one player per position that will be in a fight for a roster spot.

Linebacker Jacob Phillips happy to have fresh start with Jim Schwartz

The linebacker believes the coaching changes was warranted.

On Wednesday at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, linebacker Jacob Phillips spoke about new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz as he enters his fourth season with the Cleveland Browns. Phillips, who didn’t have a good season at all believes the change was needed and is excited about the new system Schwartz brings:

“We’ve got to make relationships and earn the trust from a new coach, so it’s definitely a fresh start and I think it’s good. I think it’s needed and it will work out good

Obviously he has a resume and you see the players that he’s been able to coach over this time and super excited for it. Super excited to learn, super excited to be around him and the depth of his knowledge. So just kind of grasping onto that moment and can’t wait ‘til football rolls back around”

Time will tell if the move was the right one but it seems the players are happy with the change.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbw33aqtym0ft0g player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

[listicle id=83832]