The Cardinals have signed defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The former Bills defender has inked a three-year deal worth $40MM with $18.5MM guaranteed, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Technically, it’s a four-year deal, but Phillips is really only ticketed for three since the 2023 season will be voided if he is on the roster five days after the 2022 season’s Super Bowl is played.
The incumbent Bills didn’t make a major play to keep Phillips. They drafted Ed Oliver at No. 9 overall last year, they have promising 2018 third-rounder Harrison Phillips coming back from injury, and they’re set to retain Star Lotulelei for a third season. Other clubs would have considered Phillips as a franchise tag candidate, but the Bills were in a unique position and allowed him to walk.
Phillips enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in Buffalo. The Bills claimed former second-round pick off waivers from the Dolphins in 2018, and he went on to become a key component of the Bills’ elite pass D. Last year, he tallied 9.5 sacks – nearly double the amount he totaled between all of 2016, 2017, and 2018. He also had 16 quarterback hits. The advanced metrics weren’t fond of his work (Phillips ranked just No. 103 out of 113 qualified interior defenders) but NFL evaluators, especially those in Arizona, didn’t mind.
Great guy, sad to see him leave Buffalo but he might be a great example of system success.
He usually had fresh legs due to the fact that he saw 50-55% of snaps getting plenty of rest
Not sure he can replicate that output if he is an every down player
Either way he was a great person off the field