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Jordan Phillips is back for another go-round with the Buffalo Bills.
The team announced on April 6 that the defensive lineman was re-signing with the team on a one-year deal. Phillips played for the Bills from 2018 to 2019, then returned in 2022 after two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Phillips appeared in 12 games last season, racking up 20 total tackles with 1.5 sacks and three tackles for a loss.
Bills Fill in Key Holes on Defense
Phillips had already hinted that he wanted to return to Buffalo for another season, saying after the end of last season that he was hoping to reach a deal with the team.
“Yeah, I’m going to figure out a way to get it done,” Phillips said in January, via USA Today’s Bills Wire.
Phillips has been an important part of the team’s rotation at defensive line, playing in 33% of the team’s defensive snaps last season.
“Listed at 6-foot-6 and 341 pounds, Phillips has been a dependable run-stuffer playing alongside Ed Oliver in Buffalo,” noted The Associated Press. “His 9 1/2 sacks in 2019 are the most by a Bills player since Lorenzo Alexander had 12 1/2 in 2016.”
Phillips has also been a popular player with both fans and players. Though the Bills made Phillips’ signing official on Thursday, Pro Football Talk reported on March 29 that he was coming back for a one-year deal worth up to $4.6 million.
Phillips is now the latest Bills player to return to the team in free agency. While the Bills lost a major piece of their defense with the departure of free-agent linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, they have also brought back a number of key players, especially on the defensive side of the ball. That includes All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer, a move that The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia said will help the Bills remain one of the league’s top defenses.
“Poyer’s return immediately catapults them back into a potential high-end defense this season, as the Bills will also get Micah Hyde back to continue their prolific partnership,” he wrote. “There might be some concern over Poyer’s age (31) and all the games he missed last year, but when he’s on the field, Poyer has been as reliable and as good as it gets within the team’s defensive scheme. His return will go a long way in their hunt for Super Bowl glory in 2023.
Jordan Phillips Returns After Injury-Shortened Season
Phillips returns to the Bills after a season cut short by injuries. The 30-year-old tackle suffered a shoulder injury in the team’s December win over the New England Patriots that hampered him the rest of the season. As Nick Wojton of USA Today’s Bills Wire noted, Phillips missed two games and returned for the team’s Week 16 win over the Chicago Bears to a reduced role.
After the team’s playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Phillips told reporters that he played hurt the remainder of the year and would need offseason surgery.
“I tore my rotator cuff and some other stuff,” he told reporters, via the Buffalo News.
Phillips added that he would have gone on injured reserve if the injury had taken place during the regular season, but added that he would be all healed up in time for training camp in the summer.
