Buffalo Bills List Fmr. Illini LB Del’Shawn Phillips Out of Sunday’s Game at Miami
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Buffalo Bills have officially listed former Illinois linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips as out of Sunday’s game with a quadriceps injury.
Buffalo will play at Miami Sunday after defeating the New York Jets 27-17 in the season opener last week.
After suffering the injury in his NFL debut last Sunday, Phillips was never able to get physically cleared for any of the Wednesday, Thursday or Friday practice sessions and therefore, Bills head coach Sean McDermott listed the linebacker as inactive. Phillips played in only seven special teams snaps last weekend.
Phillips is one of three linebackers listed as out for Buffalo in Sunday’s game as starters Matt Milano (hamstring) and middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (shoulder) are out after being unable to get on the practice field this week. Buffalo’s backup middle linebacker Tyrel Dodson left Sunday’s game with a neck injury but was fully active for practice sessions on Thursday and Friday.
Phillips, a 6-foot-2 and 230-pound hybrid player, was one of six active linebackers on the Bills roster for the beginning of the 2020 season. Phillips, who was one of 10 former Illini to be on NFL active rosters this past Sunday, was not selected in the 2019 NFL draft despite registering 95 tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four interceptions, and seven passes deflected for Lovie Smith’s Illini defense during the 2018 season.
Phillips was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons but he was waived days before the Falcons began the 2019 regular season. Phillips, a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com, Rivals.com and ESPN.com as a junior college transfer from Garden City (Kansas) Community College, was a All-Big Ten honorable mention selection by the league’s designated media panel after leading the Illini in interceptions and tackles as the only senior starter on the Illinois defense in 2018.