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Darius Philon

Colts Meet With DL Darius Philon

April 27th, 2022 at 3:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Gus Bradley has already imported two members from his 2021 Las Vegas defense, Yannick Ngakoue and Brandon Facyson. The new Colts defensive coordinator has his eye on another ex-Raider.

Darius Philon met with the Colts on Wednesday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. A Raider last season, Philon played for Bradley during the veteran defensive coordinator’s time with the Chargers as well. The Raiders also met with Philon recently.

These meetings double as medical checkups for Philon, who suffered a torn patellar tendon in Week 18 last season. The 28-year-old interior defensive lineman was out of football during the 2019 and ’20 seasons, but he bounced back under Bradley in Vegas. The four-year Chargers contributor registered two sacks and five tackles for loss during his Raiders campaign.

The Colts could use some depth behind D-tackle starters DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, and Philon would not be a pricey addition — especially considering the severe knee injury he sustained in January. The Philon visit is also interesting due to the Colts’ recent re-signing of defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis, who suffered a patellar tendon tear in October. Patellar tendon tears represent a difficult injury to surmount, so it would obviously be notable if the Colts rostered two D-linemen traveling this comeback route.

Raiders Meet With DL Darius Philon

April 14th, 2022 at 4:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders’ new regime is monitoring one of the free agents who played a key role during the Jon Gruden/Rich Bisaccia season. Darius Philon met with the team Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Philon, 28, completed a comeback after two seasons out of the league, playing in 11 Raiders games and making decent contributions as a rotational defensive lineman. This included key work in the team’s Week 18 marathon against the Chargers, but Philon suffered a season-ending injury — a torn patellar tendon — during that five-period contest. This will give the five-year veteran the task of completing another comeback.

A four-year Chargers contributor, Philon registered two sacks and five tackles for loss during his Raiders campaign. Both sacks came in the first game against his former team — an October loss — but he logged 277 defensive snaps despite his hiatus. Philon saw an arrest lead to his Cardinals release in the summer of 2019, and no team signed him until the Raiders gave him a shot in March of last year.

Patellar tendon tears represent one of the toughest injuries to surmount, so the new Raiders regime gauging his mid-offseason status makes sense. The Raiders brought back another of the previous regime’s D-line cogs in Johnathan Hankins but have also made several outside additions up front. Vernon Butler, Andrew Billings, Bilal Nichols and Kyle Peko signed with the Raiders in recent weeks, forming a mostly new interior D-line cast in Vegas.

Raiders’ Darius Philon Suffers Season-Ending Injury

January 11th, 2022 at 8:56am CST by Adam La Rose

When the Raiders make their return to the postseason on Saturday, they will be without one of their contributors on the defensive front. Darious Philon suffered a torn patellar tendon in the team’s win over the Chargers on Sunday night, per ESPN’S Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). As a result, his season is over. 

Philon, 27, was a somewhat surprising addition to the team when he was signed as a free agent in March. The move came after Philon had been out of the league for the 2019 and 2020 seasons despite having signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals. That’s because the defensive tackle had been arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in August of 2019.

Originally drafted in the sixth round by the Chargers in 2015, Philon had two very productive years with Bolts in 2017 and 2018. He totalled 8.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in that stretch, as he took on a starting role. In his first campaign in Las Vegas, he has produced 27 total tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries in 11 games played.

The Raiders visit the Bengals on Saturday afternoon to kick off the postseason. While everyone on the team will be focused on its first playoff action since 2016, it remains to be seen if Philon has done enough to earn himself another deal for the 2022 season.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/1/22

January 1st, 2022 at 4:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the New Year’s Day activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Oli Udoh

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Bryce Hall

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Raiders Activate CB Mullen From IR

December 11th, 2021 at 6:41pm CST by Ely Allen

Trayvon Mullen is primed for a return to action as the Raiders have announced that he’s been activated from injured reserve today. Las Vegas had designated the former second-round pick to return from injured reserve a little over a week ago.

Interim head coach Rich Bisaccia had made a statement saying, “[Mullen] wants to be in a position where he feels like he’s ready to go and he’s not at 70 percent or 80 percent,” so Mullen’s activation should indicate a return to full health for the Raiders’ starting cornerback.

While the Raiders will certainly be happy to have a bit more depth to a cornerback room that was looking fairly slim with Mullen injured and Damon Arnette‘s release, Mullen’s absence has allowed Las Vegas to test out some of the corners they had available. Even after losing Mullen and Arnette after only four games, the Raiders knew they had experience in ten-year veteran Casey Hayward and liked what they saw in rookie fifth-round pick Nate Hobbs. They did take action, reaching out to sign Hayward’s former teammate, Brandon Facyson, off the Chargers’ practice squad to help fill out the room. The signing has paid off as they’ve seen Facyson start their last six games as Hobbs continues to develop as a pro.

Adding Mullen to the mix strengthens an already impressive position group for the Raiders’ defense. Mullen’s activation was joined by defensive tackle Darius Philon‘s activation off injured reserve. Las Vegas also announced the signing of linebacker Will Compton to the active roster and the release of defensive tackle Damion Square. From the practice squad wide receiver Tyron Johnson, linebacker Javin White, and running back Trey Ragas have been called up for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/8/21

December 8th, 2021 at 7:46pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Designated for return: G D’Ante Smith, CB Trae Waynes

Denver Broncos

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/10/21

November 10th, 2021 at 3:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals 

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: K Lirim Hajrullahu

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Raiders To Sign Darius Philon

March 22nd, 2021 at 4:28pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Las Vegas continues to add depth to their defensive line, and their latest signing is an interesting one. The Raiders have agreed to terms on a deal with Darius Philon, the team announced on Twitter.

This one came a bit out of left field, because Philon hasn’t suited up since the 2018 season. He was originally drafted by the Chargers in 2015, and spent the next four years with the team. He flashed plenty of potential during his last couple seasons there, and started 13 games in 2018. He had 33 tackles, seven for a loss, four sacks, and a forced fumble that year.

That earned him a two-year, $10MM deal from the Cardinals in 2019, but he never played a down for the team. That’s because he was arrested that August for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and cut shortly thereafter. We haven’t heard much from him since then, as he didn’t play that season or in 2020.

He’s apparently ready to make a comeback now, and is still only 27. Presumably signed very cheaply, he could be a decent low-risk flyer for a Raiders team in need of help along the defensive front.

Cardinals Cut Darius Philon Following Arrest

August 10th, 2019 at 6:37pm CST by Micah Powell

On Friday, defensive lineman Darius Philon was arrested and charged with aggravated with a deadly weapon from an incident in May. On Saturday, the team made the decision to cut Philon, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes. 

Philon allegedly pointed a gun and threatened to shoot a woman outside of a strip club on May 17th. The police report says the player pointed the gun at the victim, who was with another female, twice before she returned to the club, asking at one point “which one of you wants a bullet?” Philon drove away following the incident. On Friday, he was booked into the Maricopa County Jail and on Saturday he posted a $5,000 bond and was released.

The Cardinals signed the defensive end to a two-year deal in March worth $10MM and had slated him to fill a big role with the team in 2019. With Philon no longer in the picture, third-round pick Zach Allen is now expected to take over as a starter in Arizona.

A sixth-round selection in 2015, Philon played four seasons with the Chargers before signing with the Cardinals in 2019. The defensive lineman has appeared in 54 career games (19 starts) with 80 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Cardinals DL Darius Philon Arrested

August 10th, 2019 at 9:40am CST by Ben Levine

Cardinals defensive lineman Darius Philon was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon stemming from an incident in May, according to a report on TMZ.com (and passed along by Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). The 25-year-old was taken to Maricopa County Jail this morning.

Philon allegedly pointed a gun and threatened to shoot a woman outside of a strip club on May 17th. The police report says the player pointed the gun at the victim, who was with another female, twice before she returned to the club, asking at one point “which one of you wants a bullet?” Philon drove away following the incident.

After playing four years for the Chargers organization, Philon joined the Cardinals on a two-year, $10MM ($5MM guaranteed). The defensive lineman has appeared in 54 career games (19 starts) with 80 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

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