HEADLINES

John Phillips

Saints Place LB A.J. Klein On IR

December 19th, 2017 at 5:19pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints will be without one of their starting linebackers down the stretch and into the playoffs, as the club announced they’ve placed A.J. Klein on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, New Orleans has signed tight end John Phillips.A.J. Klein (Vertical)

Klein, 26, inked a three-year, $15MM with the Saints this offseason, staying in the NFC South after four seasons with the Panthers. While the New Orleans defense has experienced a remarkable turnaround in 2017, Klein hasn’t necessarily been a large part of that effort despite playing roughly three quarters of the club’s defensive snaps. The Saints are still just 23rd in rush defense DVOA, while Klein himself has graded as only the No. 82 linebacker among 92 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

While the loss of Klein will certainly lead to adjustments along the Saints’ front seven, the team does possess an ample amount of linebacker depth. Veterans such as Manti Te’o, Gerald Hodges, and the recently-signed Jonathan Freeny are all candidates to join the starting lineup opposite Craig Robertson.

Phillips, meanwhile, is now back in New Orleans after appearing in eight games for the club a season ago. An effective blocker but not much of an offensive weapon, the 30-year-old Phillips was with the Saints during training camp before being waived off injured reserve in September.

Bengals Work Out Four Tight Ends

October 16th, 2017 at 6:20pm CST by GregGoldstein

With Tyler Eifert out for the season after opting to undergo back surgery last week, the Bengals got an up close look at a number of free agent tight ends today.Larry Donnell (vertical) Cincinnati worked out veterans Larry Donnell, Jace Amaro, Gavin Escobar and John Phillips, tweets Adam Caplan of Sirius XM.

None of these options are particularly intriguing given the overall lack of production across the board, but it does show a pointed attempt to address a position that’s very much in flux with Eifert gone for the rest of the season.

Up to this point, the team has mostly relied on Tyler Kroft and C.J. Uzomah to take snaps in Eifert’s place. Kroft, 25, has been the more offensively productive of the two, having caught 14 balls for 139 yards and two scores, which both came in the team’s first victory of the year two weeks ago against the Browns.

The Bengals had a bye in Week 6, but will look to build on their current two-game winning streak when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the AFC North division leading Steelers this coming Sunday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/8/17

September 8th, 2017 at 5:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

  • Released from IR: WR Dez Stewart

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Saints Reach 53-Man Roster Limit

September 2nd, 2017 at 10:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Every team had to get under the 53-man limit by Saturday’s deadline, but the Saints were the last to publicly announce their cuts. Here’s the full rundown of their moves:

Waived:

Released:

IR:

The Saints re-signed Cadet this offseason only to put him on the trade block in June. They didn’t find any takers then and they apparently couldn’t find any now. The Jets, who pursued him in free agency, could have interest in signing him.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/17

August 29th, 2017 at 6:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

  • Waived: LB Christian Kuntz

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

NFC Notes: Romo, Cowboys, Panthers

March 30th, 2017 at 8:49pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Cowboys should bring an end to the Tony Romo saga by April 17, the first day of their offseason workout program, opines Joel Corry of CBS Sports. If Romo is still on their roster then, it would behoove him to report because of a clause in his contract stating his base salary will decrease by $500K if he doesn’t complete at least 90 percent of offseason workouts. But the Cowboys shouldn’t want Romo to report, observes Corry, who points out that both his $14MM salary and $24.7MM for 2017 would become guaranteed if he were to suffer a serious injury in OTAs. While the Cowboys would like to trade Romo, it’s doubtful Romo would renegotiate his contract to facilitate a deal, according to Corry, noting that his three-year, $54MM pact isn’t unreasonable money for a starting QB.

More from the NFC:

  • Panthers quarterback Cam Newton underwent successful surgery Thursday to repair a partially torn right rotator cuff, according to David Newton of ESPN.com. Newton, who suffered the injury in Week 14 last season, will take 12 weeks off from throwing. Team officials expect he’ll be ready for training camp.
  • Tight end John Phillips‘ one-year contract with the Saints is a minimum salary benefit deal worth $980K, including an $80K signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • Seahawks linebacker Terence Garvin‘s single-year accord is worth $855K, tweets Wilson. The agreement comes with a $60K signing bonus and a $20K first-game roster bonus.
  • In case you missed it, here’s the latest from Minnesota and Washington (links: 1, 2).

Saints Re-Sign TE John Phillips

March 29th, 2017 at 8:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints have re-signed tight end John Phillips to a one-year deal, the club announced today.John Phillips (Vertical)

Phillips joined the Saints last November after New Orleans claimed him off waivers from Denver. Over the next two months, Phillips appeared in eight games (four starts) for the Saints, and played on 18.8% of the club’s offensive snaps. The 29-year-old mostly served as a blocker during that time, as he posted only five receptions on seven targets. Phillips does offer special teams value, as well, as he saw time on roughly a fifth of the Saints’ ST snaps in 2016.

In 2017, Phillips will likely play the same role he did last year, acting as New Orleans’ third tight end behind Coby Fleener and Josh Hill. A seven-year veteran, Phillips has never been much of an offensive force, but he did manage 15 catches back in 2011. In addition to the Saints and Broncos, Phillips has also spent time with the Chargers and Cowboys.

Although terms of Phillips’ deal weren’t released, he likely signed a pact at or near the veteran minimum.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/7/16

November 7th, 2016 at 6:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Titans announced that they’ve promoted running back David Fluellen from the practice squad and waived cornerback Cody Riggs. Fluellen’s signing could be an indication that Derrick Henry might miss multiple games with a calf injury, as head coach Mike Mularkey hinted at today. Henry tweaked his calf during warmups yesterday and didn’t play a single snap.
  • The Saints claimed tight end John Phillips off waivers from the Chargers, according to Christopher Dabe of NOLA.com. Phillips has 103 games under his belt, and has mostly served as a blocker throughout his career. New Orleans also waived cornerback Brian Dixon and defensive end Chris McCain, tweets Nick Underhill of the Advocate.
  • After placing veteran running back Antone Smith on injured reserve, the Buccaneers have promoted Russell Hansbrough from the practice squad, the team announced. Hansbrough has bounced on and off Tampa’s taxi squad this year.
  • The Packers announced that they’ve promoted fullback Joe Kerridge to the active roster and waived safety Jermaine Whitehead.
  • The Texans waived tackle Jeff Adams, the club announced today. Adams, 27, had spent portions of the past two seasons with Houston.
  • The Chiefs have waived cornerback Terrance Mitchell, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).

Broncos Cut TE John Phillips

November 5th, 2016 at 1:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following their acquisition of A.J. Derby from the Patriots before the trade deadline, the Broncos became deep enough at tight end to release their corps’ most veteran member. The team cut John Phillips and promoted cornerback Taurean Nixon in advance of its Week 9 clash with the Raiders, Mike Klis of 9News reports.

The eighth-year veteran became a fill-in while both of its primary options, Virgil Green and Jeff Heuerman, struggled with injuries this season. But both Green and Heuerman are now healthy, with Derby set to be active against Oakland, per Klis, after acclimating sufficiently to the Broncos’ playbook.

Phillips signed with the Broncos just before training camp and beat out slightly higher-profile addition Garrett Graham for a backup tight end job but ended up starting three games and playing all eight Denver contests. A former Cowboys sixth-round pick in 2009, Phillips has started 35 games in his career — starting at least one game in each of the seasons in which he’s been healthy. He played alongside Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green for the Chargers from 2013-15. This season, the 29-year-old Phillips rated as Pro Football Focus’ No. 21 tight end, mostly on the strength of his blocking.

The defending Super Bowl champions have not received much from their tight end position this season, with Green’s 150 receiving yards leading the way. Phillips has five receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown this season.

Aqib Talib‘s injury induced this move as well, with the standout corner being ruled out for the pivotal road tilt due to a back injury. Kayvon Webster‘s questionable status leaves the Broncos with three healthy corners, so Nixon — a seventh-round pick last year — will be summoned as a result.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/16

July 28th, 2016 at 3:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Broncos have waived tight end Manasseh Garner with a non-football illness designation and signed free agent tight end John Phillips to take his place, writes Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post. Primarily a blocker, Phillips has 95 appearances (32 starts), 45 catches and four touchdowns on his six-year resume with Dallas and San Diego.
  • The Bengals announced that they have signed safety Jimmy Wilson. Wilson, who turns 30 on Saturday, appeared in 13 games with San Diego last season before the team released him in December. Earlier this year, he hooked on with KC, but that stint was short lived. Since entering the league as a seventh-rounder in 2011, Wilson has played in 73 regular-season games, logged 28 starts, and amassed five interceptions.
  • The Lions announced the signing of linebacker Dominique Tovell as well as the release of wide receiver Damian Copeland and linebacker Jerry Franklin.
  • The Jets announced that they have cut rookie punter Tom Hackett. With Hackett out of the picture, fellow rookie Lachlan Edwards has presumably won the team’s punting job.
  • The Falcons announced the signing of defensive end Efe Obada. In a related move, Atlanta waived wide receiver Daje Johnson.
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